Artists
used to labor to attain immortality. Nowadays, there is a new breed out to make
the most of their fifteen minutes. Maximilien Klinkau wants his fame both ways:
fast and long-lasting. Yet, he still wants to be left alone to brood. Art
critic Sara Speed believes she can score some reflected glory by breaking the
news of his new technique, but she might be slightly biased. Not only is she
Klinkau’s latest lover and model, Speed also just might be sliding into lunacy
with him in Kyle Broom’s Tabloid Vivant (trailer here), which screens
free tonight at the University of Chicago’s Doc Films.
Klinkau’s
paintings are like a sinister Yakov Smirnoff joke. You don’t just look into
them. His paintings also look into you—deep into your soul—and rip a part of it
out. In retrospect, the temperamental and secretive Klinkau might not be such a
good fit for a Black Dahlia-obsessed aspiring journalist, but they both seem
convinced about his brilliance. Retreating to a friend’s country home, Speed
starts sitting for the portrait intended to be the cornerstone of her article.
However,
their relationship takes a dark turn, almost as if Klinkau’s canvases are
driving them mad. Speed and Klinkau will briefly clean up their act when her
editor pays a visit, but she can still sense something is off (it doesn’t
require much intuition). With cabin fever setting in, the film segues into
Polanski-esque territory before evolving into outright body horror.
Vivant is a strange film
that earns points riffing on Nietzsche and incorporating big band standards and
Susie Ibarra percussion tracks on its soundtrack. However, it mirrors the
overheated untidiness of Klinkau’s mind to a fault. We never believe Klinkau
and Speed could be a couple, because Broom never bothers to sell us. Also
rather problematically, Klinkau’s supposedly mind-blowing paintings look
anything but. Frankly, the one the audience most frequently sees resembles Shepard
Fairey’s infamous propaganda poster pixelated to protect the guilty.
Nevertheless,
it should be readily established, Jesse Woodrow and Tamzin Brown go nuts quite impressively.
When they reach the third act, they both look like emaciated heroin addicts who
have been rolled in florescent paint, which is pretty on target for Broom’s
needs. Amber Friendly also has the right sort of clearly intelligent screen
presence to deliver a much needed reality check.
