Venus

Peter O’Toole is Maurice, a veteran septuagenarian actor—rightly a star when in his prime, he plays mostly corpses now—who daily drinks and kvetches with his fussy old fellow thespian Ian (Leslie Phillips) about their inevitable degeneration. Then arrives Ian’s teenaged grandniece Jessie (Jodie Whittaker), and Maurice is transfixed. It shows at once in his gaze—unabashedly a leer, but also a deep discovery, a restoration. And yes, under such circumstances, we’re meant to be uncomfortable. Venus’ loveliest and most devastating moments come when Jessie actually does bloom under Maurice’s gaze. Whittaker’s receptivity and precision will not let you believe this is her first film; and O’Toole, whose command is total, will not let you believe it’s his last—even as that possibility lingers and, in fact, enriches the story.