Venus (2006) ****

Venus is the story of how two aging actors (Peter O'Toole and Leslie Philips) lives are turned upside down by a teenager relative of Philip's character Ian. O'Toole plays Maurice, a seventy-something how becomes infatuated with her, but not really to the point of lust. Maurice sees her as a work of art, in some cases perfection and in others a piece that needs to be molded some more.

O'Toole's performance is fantastic and dare I say he should have gotten the Oscar for this one. The film isn't on par of Lawrence of Arabia, but his performance certainly is- a haunting look at an actor that's become a legend on stage but has failed in the other aspects of his life. He is a stranger to himself and "Venus" is a means to introduction.
In the middle of this veteran cast you have Jodie Whittaker playing Jessie a.k.a. Venus. Whittaker takes the role and runs with it (she was 25 at the time of the film) and her past career has her following in the shadowy footsteps of O'Toole and the other veteran cast members.

Even though the script for Venus can be a little ho-hum at times, the acting is what really makes this into a superior film that I would recommend seeing. Is it Peter O'Toole's swan song? I certainly hope not.