Μύ Spain's Javier Bardem was a surprise Best Actor nominee at this year's Oscars, and though he eventually lost out to Russell Crowe his nomination was a sign of how much his performance as Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas was regarded by Tinseltown's acting community.
But while Bardem - best known for his Spanish language collaborations with Bigas Luna and Pedro AlmodΓ³var - delivers a touching and sensitive portrayal of a man persecuted both for his intellect and his homosexuality, artist-turned-director Julian Schnabel's overlong biopic is too episodic and arty to appeal to a mainstream cinema audience.
Based on Arenas' own memoir, "Before Night Falls" bears many similarities with Schnabel's 1996 film "Basquiat", not least its infuriating disregard for structure and narrative. That movie featured David Bowie as Andy Warhol, an eccentric casting choice mirrored here by Johnny Depp's bizarre dual appearances as a transvestite and prison guard.
Introduced first as a poverty-stricken child, then a promiscuous adult, Arenas is depicted as a dedicated sensualist whose enthusiasm for Castro's communist revolution is soon tempered by the new regime's crackdown on immoral behaviour. Forced into prison, then exile, he ends up in New York with AIDS.
It sounds like an unhappy life, but through judicious use of striking imagery, evocative music, and dreamy flashback, Schnabel contrasts the harsh reality of his hero's plight with the world he might have lived in had fate dealt him a more forgiving hand.
