This
excellent film is loosely based on the true story of Alan
Conway, a failed travel agent turned alcoholic confidence man
who successfully impersonated film director Stanley Kubrick
in the 1990s.
The story follows Conway (John Malkovich) from
victim to victim, taking advantage of their generosity to obtain
money, valuable gifts, food, alcohol, and in some cases even
sex (but the last only from handsome young men). As his metaphorical
house built on deceit begins to collapse around him, he fakes
mental illness to avoid prosecution.
Director Brian Cook and writer Anthony Frewin,
both longtime assistants to Kubrick, serve up a sly look at
how the power of presumed celebrity successfully exploits the
vanity of a con man's marks. Conway's victims fall over themselves
("over the moon, I am", one of them says) for the
attention of a man they believe is a famous director, and the
film deftly satirizes the public's obsession with celebrity
to the point of behaving irrationally.
It isn't a deep examination of the inner workings
of Conway's mind, but it isn't intended to be. It's an entertainingly
droll comedy with a great leading performance. Several scenes
are affectionate homages to Kubrick's films (including a funny
variation on the famous "I'm Spartacus!" scene), while
the cheerfully absurdist tone is reminiscent of Dr. Strangelove
and A Clockwork Orange. Much of the music is taken
from Kubrick's films, with some original music and songs contributed
by Bryan Adams.
John Malkovich is sublime in a comedic turn as
Conway, a fey charmer who turns name dropping into an art form
that allows him to separate gullible people from their money.
In the wrong hands, an unapologetic user of people like Conway
could be unlikable, but Malkovich carries the film by making
us fall for Conway just like his victims do. No one plays an
eccentric quite like he does.
The rest of the cast is also quite good, with Jim Davidson,
Richard E. Grant, Henry Goodman, and Nitin Ganatra as some of
Conway's victims; Burn Gorman (Owen on Torchwood) as
a Droogish-looking punk; Ayesha Dharker as the psychiatrist
Conway manipulates into declaring him mentally ill; Marc Warren
(Elton in the Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters")
as a potential victim who turns the tables by tricking Conway
into revealing himself as a fraud; Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler
on Doctor Who) as a Maitre D'; and William Hootkins
and Marisa Berenson as critic Frank Rich and his wife. Leslie
Phillips, Honor Blackman, and Ken Russell also have fun cameos.
It's an amusing film, even more so if you're familiar
with the films of Stanley Kubrick. John Malkovich's performance
is worth the price of admission alone. Recommended.
