Augh and a movie review

Sinus infection. Blech.

I watched “Tom and Viv” yesterday. It starred Willem Dafoe as T.S. Eliot (one of my favorites) and Miranda Richardson as his first wife, Vivienne Haigh-Wood. I get why they cast ol’ Willem in the role of T.S. There are a few scenes where he looks kind of like him, and from what I’ve heard of old recordings, he sounds like him too. Shoot, for all I know T.S. Eliot was a passionless, emotionless wooden dude with no vocal inflection or facial expressions. I kinda doubt it though, because so many people really did like him and people don’t ususally like hanging out with emotionless guys like the guy that Willem Dafoe depicted.

Miranda Richardson, on the other hand, was stunning as Eliot’s emotionally disturbed first wife. She was absolutely transcendent, and totally deserving of the Oscar nomination she got. I dare say she deserved the 1995 Oscar instead of Jessica Lange (for “Blue Sky”).

Rosemary Harris (Aunt May in Spiderman) also snagged a nomination for Best Supporting. She did a fabulous job, but that was the year Dianne Weist won for “Bullets Over Broadway” and Helen Mirren was also nominated, so I’m afraid Harris’s understated but lovely portrayal of Rose Haigh-Wood didn’t make a big enough of a splash with the academy.

All in all, I was kind of disappointed. I was hoping for a more emotional movie. That might not be historically accurate, but I am wallowing in my sickness and was ready for an ultra-romantic literary snack. This was not it. It’s worth check out for Richardson’s performance. She’s amazing.