The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
I love me... I love me not.
HBO Films presents The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, a kaleidoscopic look inside the unquiet mind of Peter Sellers. Despite his Hollywood success, his comic virtuosity belied a troubled private life plagued by self-loathing, insecurity and abusive behavior. The film peers behind the many faces of Peter Sellers to reveal how this comic genius teetered on the edge of madness.
Member Reviews
Peter Sellers - The Clinical Narcissist - Fritz_Gerlich
Peter Sellers is an enigma no more.
This bioepic takes an unflinching look at a man who was, by his own admission, completely hollow inside. Compassion, love, caring, etc were not part of his make up. And people like that inevitably leave a trail of human wreckage in their wake. This movie is a good chronicle of that trail, and a good warning to those involved with narcissists to get out. &btw, you cannot change a narcissist, it is one of the most treatment resistant personalities, if not the most resistant.Tricky biopic pulled off with great skill - Baboonvideo
ZIP-WORTHY IF: You have even a passing interest in Sellers and want to experience an exceptional performance from Geoffrey Rush.
REVIEW: Actor Peter Sellers is hardly the most obvious or straightforward choice for a biographical film. Though Sellers had his share of successes (the Pink Panther films, Dr. Strangelove) and rocky relationships (including a marriage to actress Britt Ekland), he was something of an enigma, remembered by many as a blank slate with little of his own personality when taken away from the camera.
With The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, however, director Stephen Hopkins (Lost in Space) uses the void that was Sellers as a narrative conceit, treating this lack of individuality as both a gift and a curse for the actor and using it to stage a film that oftentimes feels like one of Sellers' own pictures.
Geoffrey Rush takes the lead role and runs with it, offering an exact and chameleonic performance with stunning levels of mimicry and deep understanding (the fact that Sellers occasionally comes across as an overly petulant and unsympathetic lead is more of a reflection on Sellers than Rush). What really makes Rush's performance stand out is the surprisingly effective gimmick of occasionally having Sellers step into the shoes of other people in his life (his wife, his mother, a director) whenever he feels the need to shape reality differently. He is a tour de force.True Genuis, and truly dysfunctional - Trixnbun
I think that this movie is one biography that was done extremely well. I had heard in the past that every time he played a character he truly became that character, and to the extremes you could only imagine.
It seems that those that are true genuis's are always those that have the hardest time functioning, and relating to others. They truly want to succeed, but do not know how.
The director did an excellent job, and I especially enjoyed when it cut from the scene and had Peter playing the part of the person giving the 2 minute retrospect, it reminds you of how malable he was.
I've always enjoyed his movies, and this puts much of who he was in retrospect and gives a new view in watching his roles. His ability to play mulitple roles, especially in Dr. Strangelove has always amazed me. However the price he paid for this was too much, but he knew no other way.
His mother had such a large impact on who he was, however she also paid the price for her pushing him to succeed.
There isn't a lot of Action, and the comedy is almost a dark comedy, but if you are patient and actually enjoy the depth that this type of film can bring I beleive you'll enjoy it.
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Peter Sellers - The Clinical Narcissist - Fritz_Gerlich
Peter Sellers is an enigma no more.
This bioepic takes an unflinching look at a man who was, by his own admission, completely hollow inside. Compassion, love, caring, etc were not part of his make up. And people like that inevitably leave a trail ...Tricky biopic pulled off with great skill - Baboonvideo
ZIP-WORTHY IF: You have even a passing interest in Sellers and want to experience an exceptional performance from Geoffrey Rush.
REVIEW: Actor Peter Sellers is hardly the most obvious or straightforward choice for a biographical film. Though Sellers ...True Genuis, and truly dysfunctional - Trixnbun
I think that this movie is one biography that was done extremely well. I had heard in the past that every time he played a character he truly became that character, and to the extremes you could only imagine.
It seems that those that are true genuis's ...