Cara Delevigne & Judi Dench star in 'Tulip Fever' (despite production problems)
Based on the novel of the same name by Deborah Moggach, 'Tulip Fever' tells the story of an artist who falls for a young married woman while he's commissioned to paint her portrait during the Tulip mania of 17th century Amsterdam.
Originally filmed in mid-2014 during the European summer, 'Tulip Fever' was extensively delayed on more than one occasion before being released in the last quarter of this year, coming significantly underneath its budget only grossing USD$7.6 million on a USD $25 million budget.
In this iteration, the all star cast features Oscar Winner Alicia Vikander, Dane DeHaan, Jack O'Connell, Zach Galifianakis, Judi Dench, Christoph Waltz, Holliday Grainger, and Cara Delevigne - though this wasn't always the case.
In 2004, the film was originally intended to have a higher budget of $48million with the likes of Jim Broadbent, Jude Law, and Keira Knightly - coming straight off the back of the successful first 'Pirates of the Caribbean' film. It even had the likes of Steven Spielberg producing through DreamWorks and 'Shakespeare In Love' director John Madden at the helm.
If anything is known about the filmmaking business, it's that it's a very fickle business. Production was halted days before shooting was scheduled to begin as a result of changes in the tax rules which affected production within the United Kingdom. Flash forward to 2013 where the infamous Harvey Weinstein (shudder) and Alison Owen acquired the rights from Paramount Pictures, and cast Alicia Vikander, Dane DeHaan and Christoph Waltz to replace the original cast.
Footage of the film was original screened at the 68th Cannes FIlm Festival in 2015 with a slated release in November of that same year, but was pushed back to the following July and then delayed once more until 2017 before ultimately being pulled entirely - that is until August of 2017 when it was finally released to the public at London's Soho House.
Considering the tumultuous record the film has had, it shouldn't be a surprise that the film itself has some issues. The garish use of a narrator tells the audience that the filmmakers don't entirely trust their visuals to tell the story. And then there are the plot holes of the film.
The script attempts to weave a plethora of unnecessary complications into a story of infidelity in a historical setting that proves to be nothing more than dull. As the scheming of the film becomes more and more absurdly comedic, it's not long before the story simply falls apart and becomes abundantly clear that the actors have lost faith in their characters. It won't come as a surprise that the audience follows suit.
And because of this, viewers will start to notice other flaws, such as the historically inaccurate set pieces as it becomes more 'back streets of London' in that time period rather than the more wealthy areas of Amsterdam - let alone Holland as a country at all. This is, however, more of a blemish on a less than average film.
When making an historical film, it's important to do the research with the understanding that the audience isn't stupid. 'Tulip Fever' is set in the early 1600s in Amsterdam, Netherlands - at least 200 years before the slave trade truly ended, and while there were certainly men of colour, they were not in the positions the film portrays.
Most disturbingly, the rampant sex scenes are sure to make anyone - excluding the asexual writer of this piece - call for it to end. No-one in their right minds would ever believe the relationship between Vikander and DeHaan - the chemistry is just not there.
The film is excruciating to watch at times and a total misfire, with the sex scenes making it that much more awful. It seems like every other scene is a tacky sex act, and because of that, it seems they couldn't be bothered working to improve other aspects of the film. In fact, it's like some of these scenes are evidence of the filmmakers succumbing to their own fantasies (see photo evidence below).
If you want an interesting and accurate portrayal of 17th Century Holland, try 'Girl With The Pearl Earring' instead.
'Tulip Fever' is out in select cinemas across Australia now.
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