White Crow (The)

So looking forward to this...

Talk about being underwhelmed!

Rudolph Nureyev was given 45 minutes alone in a room...to contemplate his future - to defect or not to defect. The enormity of that decision is completely lost in this mismanaged film. And, it all boils down to the writing...which is all over the place with a scrambled timeline that simply confuses...one minute Nureyev has a broken leg in plaster, the next...he's bouncing around like a March bunny! Apart from the black & white flashbacks, there is no visible differentiation between the different stages of Nureyev's [earlier] life.

His homosexuality is [increduously] down-played, there's a brief bedroom scene with him in bed with a naked male 'friend' - however, the emphasis seems to be misplaced upon a clandestine relationship he had with his mentor's wife - the dynamics of this relationship are not explored, it was a very complex situation - the couple moved him into their home...alas, Mr Hare's writing only shows the surface of the story without digging deeper...rather than using Julie Kavanagh's biography, perhaps he ought to have spoken to more people [outwith the Ballet] who knew Mr Nureyev personally.A whole different story would emerge.

Way back in the late 80s, Mr Nureyev told me [yes, I'm making this uncharacteristically personal] that his sexuality was a compelling reason [though, not the only one] for his defection.

Ralph Fiennes is glum as Pushkin...perhaps, he realised he hand landed himself a dud of a script. What he should have done, he didn't...there's a song: Rip it up and start again - that sums it up perfectly. As for Nureyev himself, Oleg Ivenko is a spectacular looking man, looks the part and plays him [most of the time] as a self-absorbed, pompous a-hole. There's no depth...Nureyev - at this time in his life - was in turmoil. Where was the turmoil?

Rudolph Nureyev was a remarkable talent...his memory deserves a far, far better film than this.

Trailer...