it is one of his great roles. seductive, powerful, honest, simple. a piece from ordinary life. two worlds. few questions. a lot of answers. and three old men front with a girl who must define her. nothing else. or, this poor stage is best space for O'Toole art to do a delicate, convincing portrait. and his science of detail give force to Jodie Whittaker performance. and basis for story, nuances to its levels, joy to discover a rare small gem. a delight. in special form. and best manner to present steps of a fight against yourself in which innocence is part of wise gestures, in which love is more than desire but destroy of predictable future. a film about ordinary universe,. warm, touching, splendid. its axis - the brilliant Peter O'Toole.

This is a very sad, harsh, depressing movie. Not a great one, unfortunately. Since it was labeled as "comedy", I wonder what it is exactly that we are supposed to laugh at. The pain and humiliations of old age? Being so sick that you have to pee through a catheter? Geriatric rectal exams? Prostitution and abuse? Really funny, all of it. To whom this could sound amusing, I don't know. The store scene and the confrontation with the snotty "boyfriend", which I found revolting, were both unbearable. While both Peter O'Toole and Whittaker do their best, good performance is not enough to make a good movie. The script lacks subtlety and consistency in character development, pretty much ruining everything. On the cover of the DVD, the tagline reads "You'll love her". Who are we supposed to love? This Jesse is a dumb, illiterate, mean-spirited, abusive, vicious and vulgar bitch who prostitutes herself. The sight of her constantly trying to hit O'Toole was sickening and outrageous. Few attempts to make her look human are just an example of bad writing. It is intended for us to believe that she ends up genuinely caring for the man, but that's completely implausible, inconsistent with her character. While his feelings for her are real, I'm not buying that she suddenly turned affectionate. Jesse is meant to give Maurice some sort of revelation, but she lacks the complexity to elicit anything more than raw physical attraction. As for the man played by O'Toole, the only thing you can accuse him of is poor taste in women. I mean, he falls in love/lust (whatever) with this sorry excuse for a woman, and calls her "Venus". Yeah, I guess love is blind. He's just a victim, nothing more, and he plays it masochistically, to the viewer's great discomfort. To those calling him a "perv", here's a legitimate question: why would an older man have to apologize for feeling love/attraction? It's not like he was forcing or "corrupting" her, obviously. The intimate scenes between them are uncomfortable not because he's older, but because she's using him in the most despicable ways. Peter O'Toole still has that splendid, distinctive voice, and sometimes you can catch glimpses of the gorgeous man that he was. O'Toole gives depth and warmth to his character solely by his personal charm, something that only he could pull off so elegantly. His acting is marvelous as always, although this is a painful performance to watch, given the subject matter and its misguided handling.

Recap: Maurice, once a great actor, is living out his last days long from the spotlight. His days consists of bit parts in series and chatting away with his friends at their local café, mostly complaining about their old age. Into this comes young Jessie, niece of Maurice's friend Ian. Ian and Jessie don't get along at all, but Maurice is all too eager to get to know her. Over time an odd relationship develop.Comments: A rather odd story actually. At first sight it is about growing old, as the main focus is on Maurice. This is true, but only in part. It is also about two people desperately seeking attention. They are a world apart in their situations, young and old, but oddly enough they can help each other. It isn't easy to tentatively develop such a relationship, a complex mix of friendship, adoration and sexual desire, but this is also what gives the story life. Not always very nice to watch, but one might say interesting.The story is mainly focused about Maurice, so the pace is a little slower, as Maurice against his own will is forced to slow down his life, despite trying to living it large for Jessie. It also give Peter O'Toole the chance to shine with a complex and difficult character. And he does, his nomination for an Oscar was well earned, and without the stiff competition he might have won it. Actually, O'Toole's acting and Maurice's dark humor is far and away the best with this movie. It is really what makes this move worthwhile. And it is well worth the time.Jodie Whittaker, almost giving her screen debut as Jessie is not given an easy task either. But she gives an impressive performance. If Maurice and O'Toole is a waning star, Whittaker seems like a rising one.Not really my kind of movie, a little slow and the genre is not my favorite. However the acting and Maurice's almost charming sarcastic humor made me like it, even if it won't get top rating from me.6/10

I had heard of this film mainly from two things, the lead actor being nominated an Oscar, and it being made by FilmFour, it turned out to be quite a satisfying film, from director Roger Michell (Notting Hill, The Mother). Basically Maurice Russell (Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated Peter O'Toole) and his friend Ian (BAFTA nominated Leslie Phillips, known for his catchphrase "Ding Dong") are two successful but ageing actors, and the best part they could get nowadays is a corpse or some arty-farty costume drama. Ian, fearful of death being around the corner, agrees to let his niece's daughter, Jessie (Jodie Whittaker) move into their flat to look after him, but it turns out Ian, a hard-drinking, rude, and dismissive twerp, can't stand 20-something Jessie. Maurice however is liking Jessie's company very much, he in fact sort of guides her with his kindness, although it is obvious that he likes Jessie - 50 years younger than him - much more than just a friend, which explains why he calls her 'Venus'. When Maurice dies in the end, with Jessie of course, she finds the courage to face her fears, and after refusing before, agrees to go nude to be painted, just like Venus. Also starring Harry Potter's Richard Griffiths as Donald, Vanessa Redgrave as Valerie, Philip Fox as Doctor, Cathryn Bradshaw as Jillian and Bronson Webb as Jessie's boyfriend. O'Toole lost the Oscar to deserved winner Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland, but you can still see this is a very creditable performance, with an also endearing performance from Phillips, and featuring music and songs from Corinne Bailey Rae, including "Like A Star" and "Put Your Records On", this is quite a watchable romantic comedy drama. Good!