Hot-buttered opinion on the latest flicks

Copying Beethoven

Thu., Nov. 9, 2006 3:49 PM PST by Dezhda Mountz

Age makes some actors’ work more nuanced and subtle (see: Paul Newman); other actors turn into scene-stealing monsters (see: Al Pacino). With Copying Beethoven, Ed Harris officially bites off more scenery than he can chew.

Harris portrays a brutish, difficult Beethoven in his last days, aided by a brilliant young woman, Anna (Troy’s Diane Kruger). As the two inevitably clash, Harris spits and sweats so much it’s like sitting in the front row at Sea World.

Director Agnieszka Holland, whose deft hand brought us Europa, Europa, allows Kruger to shine, and the simple, straightforward dialogue plays out without (too) much interference from the camera, particularly during the exhilarating scene in which Beethoven and Anna conduct his famous Ninth Symphony. But, without a muzzle, Harris’ fortissimo performance is way too off-key to carry this movie.