Loving Vincent (2017) Review

 

Loving Vincent (2017)

Loving Vincent follows Armand Roulin, who is tasked to deliver a letter to Theo, brother of the late Vincent van Gogh, but instead stumbles upon the mysterious circumstances behind Vincent’s apparent suicide, a year after his death.

I have been utterly fascinated by this project from BreakThru films for the better part of 5 years now. Not only because of it’s subject matter but because of the revolutionary style in which this was made. It takes the guise of a murder mystery and genuinely has an interesting plot that holds true to the mystery surrounding van Gogh’s suicide/murder, having Roulin act as a posthumous detective in a way. Given the revolutionary style of this film, I fully expected the story to lack in some respects but it really covers the full spectrum from the obvious points of him attempting to take his own life, to the lesser known theories that Rene Secretan shot him and Vincent tried to cover it up. Most importantly though, it uncovers the genius behind such a tortured painter and the sad reality that his success only came after his death.

The most remarkable aspect of the movie though is the style, being a fully hand painted feature, all done in van Gogh’s signature expressionist style. It took over 100 artists 10 years and upwards of 65,000 paintings to make, even utilizing 94 of Vincent’s own paintings to create this literal artistic masterpiece combining film and static paintings to create a lifelike stop motion movie that is filled with beautiful colors and stunning detail.

The voice and reference performances are also remarkable, featuring Saoirse Ronan, Jerome Flynn, Chris O’Dowd, Eleanor Tomlinson, Helen McCrory, Robert Gulaczyk, and Douglas Booth. Booth is really great here and I love how he gets the chance to grow in his admiration for the painter in his interactions with those that new him.

Loving Vincent, directed by the original artist Dorota Kobiela, is a revolutionary piece of artistic cinema that acts as a tribute to the life and untimely death of one of the most influential artists in history, crafting a wonderfully story through van Gogh’s art and inspirations.

8.9/10