It has become something of a trend in recent times for the old hands of cinema (particularly British cinema) to be given roles in touching comedy films laced with just the right amount of sadness to make the audience leave with a warm gooey feeling inside. In my humble opinion, most of these films are pretty tame and are doomed to be found on the higher-up channels of Sky tv. However, in 2006, the then 74 year old O'Toole gave a demonstration in how to truly master the craft of playing an older part, playing Maurice in Venus. You almost got the sense that the man was merely playing himself on screen, as Maurice was a charmingly funny man, eccentric to the very finest detail, but always conveying that classic sense of class we're so used to expecting from him. Venus is a film which most definitely needs to be watched by all, because regardless of the plot itself, you are more than likely to enjoy the experience simply based on the conviction of O'Toole's performance. It is fitting that Venus earned O'Toole his final Academy Award nomination, as the film could quite easily be seen as symbolic of the crescendo of his career. It's almost as if before retiring, O'Toole wanted to remind everyone just how mercurial he was, and took the opportunity to display every last ounce of his ability. Make no doubt about it, there are few performances in recent years, particularly from the giants of earlier cinema, which have been so utterly mesmerising as this.
