Of envy, mediocrity and brilliance
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| There is a lot more to Amadeus than wigs and fancy dresses. |
Peter Shaffer's landmark play, Amadeus, is almost as true to the history as The Lord of the Rings is (in short, it never happened). But what makes Amadeus stand apart from other historically inaccurate works, is its deeply realized theme - and mind you, it is not about rivalry.
It is about envy and sheer hatred, which drives actions of a person. A person soaked in mediocrity; his talent trying to achieve heights of genius, but his attempts failing every single time. This person is Antonio Salieri, court composer for Joseph II in the 19th century Vienna. And subject of his envy is the brilliant German-composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
A child prodigy, Mozart was well known even before his arrival in Vienna. Before Mozart's acquaintance with him, Salieri had long admired Mozart's work and was fairly excited to meet him. However, during one fateful crossroad, Salieri was shocked to find Mozart as childish and obscene person of a lewd nature. His image of Mozart being a respectful and well-mannered fellow had crashed disastrously. Salieri being a devout Christian, had vowed for celibacy for his music. But he thought, why God had given such an immense talent to such a vile creature? Why he had been unsuccessful, being pious and chaste for life, while Mozart, with no religious tendencies, had been bestowed with musical brilliance?
Things worked no good for Salieri - as Mozart climbed ladders of success and recognition in the musical chambers of Vienna, Salieri struggled. He remained sulking, lamenting his inferiority and his incompetence, and composing substandard works. However, even with his abhorrence of Mozart's personality, he felt that God spoke through his music. He admired it, was relished by it, but at the same time, brilliance of Mozart's music reminded him of his own ineptitude, fueling his hatred for Mozart even more. His faith shattered ultimately and he denounced God - now his only motive was to destroy Mozart - to kill him.
Peter Shaffer has written the screenplay for the film, and he infuses his script with a twist, weaving an interesting plot
around the equally interesting characters. Salieri shouts in the beginning that he has killed Mozart. Has he?
Director Miloš Forman employs innovative ways to make viewers invest in the complexities of classical music. Many times during the film, we see Salieri reading sheet music while describing it aloud, and in the background we hear the orchestra playing the same score - reflecting the emotions which Salieri speaks with words. The film is an outstanding production - set designing, costumes and make-up are all around great. Editors Nena Danevic and Michael Chandler along with Forman deftly arrange many of famous Mozart's compositions in the background score, underlining many crucial events of the film effectively.
F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce play their respective roles of Salieri and Mozart with a complete ease. Abraham expresses more than words with his expressions and body language. Even under kilograms of prosthetics, Abraham's face emotes joy and exultation so vividly that you almost feel the prowess of Mozart's music along with him. Hulce's Mozart is charming bloke, with a crazy giggle. When Hulce plays piano or conducts the orchestra, you know that a maestro is performing, effortlessly and with complete command. Throughout the film, however, Murray overshadows Hulce - but near the end, Hulce shines in a scene where Mozart dictates music (one of the piece of Mozart's actual requiem) to Salieri.
Amadeus is a remarkable film, but slightly of longer run time. And some of its extended operas may challenge general audience. Nevertheless, backed by pitch perfect performances and glorious music by the genius Mozart himself, there is a little in Amadeus which falls flat. After all, no other film talks of envy, mediocrity and brilliance in such a powerful fashion.
3.5/5
