‘Daliland’ Review – The Colorful And Vivid Life Of A Master Painter Is Rendered Gray

Directed By: Mary Harron

Starring: Sir Ben Kingsley, Barbara Sukowa, Christopher Briney, Rupert Graves, Suki Waterhouse, Andreja Pejic and Ezra Miller

Plot Summary: Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Mary Harron (I SHOT ANDY WARHOL, AMERICAN PSYCHO), DALÍLAND stars Sir Ben Kingsley as the titular Salvador Dalí, one of the most world-renowned artists of the 20th century and focuses on the later years of the strange and fascinating marriage between Dalí and his wife, Gala (Barbara Sukowa), as their seemingly unshakable bond begins to stress and fracture. Set in New York and Spain in 1974, the film is told through the eyes of James (Christopher Briney), a young assistant keen to make his name in the art world, who helps the eccentric and mercurial Dalí prepare for a big gallery show.

Expectations going into Daliland were very high. The last time Mary Harron did an artist biopic, it was the fantastic I Shot Andy Warhol. Not to mention she took a garbage novel like American Psycho and completely recontextualized it as a darkly funny satire with a feminist bent. It’s the rare case of the film being way better than the book. Despite American Psycho being a huge hit, she never made another movie that quite reached that level. Daliland does manage to do something remarkable, which is to take a wild and almost mythical creature like Salvador Dalí and turn in a bland offering of his life.

Despite being formulaic, the biopic genre seems to make money and win awards, so like it or not, it’s not going anywhere. Amazingly, Dalí himself takes a back seat to James, his fictional assistant. From a storytelling perspective, this is seemingly smart. A POV character is needed to introduce the audience to the wild world of Dalí, but James starts to crowd the story, and despite the actor’s best effort, is not a compelling character. James’ love life gets an unnecessary subplot. There are also convoluted plot points that bog down and detract from Dalí himself, leading us to only get glimpses of the man behind the famous mustache.

Strange flashbacks are present within the film as well. It’s not uncommon for biopics to have flashbacks. Here, they serve as an easy way to convey past traumas and experiences that shaped the subject, but something feels very off about them. They feel like they never completely connect with the larger narrative theme. No understanding of Dalí is gained from them, and the viewer is left scratching their head. Some sources say these flashback scenes were added when Ezra Miller lost the second lead role (the wide-eyed James) due to scheduling conflicts, but seeing how at the time of production they were a bankable actor, the role of young Dalí was written for them. All of this to say, Dali and Ben Kingsley are done rather dirty in this film.

The biggest reason to give this a mild recommendation is Ben Kingsley as Dalí. Kingsley is uncanny as the famous artist. He gives a strong performance, and it’s unfortunate that he is utterly wasted in this. The rest of the cast is solid, but it’s hard to stay engaged with these characters when the narrative isn’t the strongest.

Daliland is missing a real beating heart at its core. This is because we never have any characters that we feel attached to enough to fully connect with. The frustrating thing is, Mary Harron knows how to make a good film, but despite this, we get a very watered down and safe biopic. One that only uses blacks and grays to try to depict the colorful and vivid life of a master painter.

Daliland is currently playing in select theaters and On Demand courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0OCVku_Rlg]