Rembrandt

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The painter's lonely final years touchingly evoked in Laughton's subtle performance, great sets and lovely camerawork.

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Review by Barney Kelley on 6th May 2008

Fresh from his world-beating blockbuster The Private Life of Henry VIII, Alexander Korda tried repeating the formula with this lavish portrait of Rembrandt. Contemporary audiences weren’t impressed but the film has stood up rather well, arguably better than its more lucrative predecessor.

As before, it’s an episodic film, cantering through Rembrandt’s life at a brisk pace. He starts the film as the most celebrated artist in all Holland. But his clients just want paintings, not art, so when he starts embracing weird modern trends (all that shadow! You can’t see people’s faces!) and painting beggars, he falls from favour into destitution. Luckily, love – in the form of Hendrickje Stoffels (Elsa Lanchester) – saves him and renews his creative vision.

Like most biopics of artists from Lust for Life to Edvard Munch, it’s the story of a genius who refuses to compromise his vision to meet with commercial acceptance. Charles Laughton makes Rembrandt a very human figure, not just unwilling but actively unable to paint the sort of crowd-pleasers that would restore his fortunes. It’s a remarkable performance; subdued and subtle – a world away from the bluster that won him his Oscar as bluff King Henry.

As befits the story of a great painter, the film is a visual triumph. Curiously, only a few scenes try to replicate Rembrandt’s signature chiaroscuro; mostly, the screen is thoroughly illuminated (no doubt the better to show off how much Korda had splashed out recreating seventeenth century Holland.) Art historians might tut but it looks spectacular; cameraman Georges Perinal’s lighting and Vincent Korda’s beautiful sets evoke the world in which Rembrandt lived rather than recreate the paintings themselves.

Rembrandt, of course, was a genius and one of the greatest figures in his chosen art form. Alexander Korda was neither, at least not as a director. It’s true that this film might have benefited from a stronger hand on the tiller. But it is a striking work, blessed with an authentically great performance from Laughton. The shortcomings are not enough to take the shine off the achievement. It might not be art but it shows excellent craftsmanship.

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