Mediocrity vs. Genius

Rating: 10/10 (27 February 2008)

Everyone in their life will encounter someone who is brilliant at doing something. Pangs of jealously will ensue, and we will examine their behaviour, probably thinking to ourselves that they do not deserve to have this great gift, that they do not deserve to have a talent that we lack. All through life, all through history, the talentless have always been jealous of the talented. The fact that we are not created equal and some of us will have to work very hard at things that come so easily to others is the theme that runs through Amadeus  Salieri is so jealous of Mozart's talent that he conspires to let as few people as possible hear Mozart's music, and ultimately tries to kill him by sending him mad.
The movie opens when Salieri is an old man who wants to confess his crimes before he dies. He wants tell the world what he did to Mozart. A priest comes to hear his confession and Salieri plays him some of his own music. Although the priest states that he studied music, he does not recognise any of Salieri's compositions. Then Salieri plays a few notes of one of Mozart's pieces and the priest immediately recognises it. In this instant, Salieri realises that despite of his all his efforts, the world is still filled with Mozart's music. What follows is Salieri's story. He tells us of how he was touched by genius and instead of being inspired by it, genius corrupted him turning him from a good man into a jealous, vengeful and malicious person.
This film is a work of great merit and won a well-deserved Best Picture Oscar. Despite its dark theme, the story is told with humour and beauty and Mozart's music resonates throughout practically every scene, giving its audience chills and helping the audience understand why Salieri was so in awe of Mozart and yet so threatened by him. Of course, the history buffs will complain that it is not a historically accurate film, but leave them to their textbooks. Wonderful stories are never historically accurate; usually a brilliant story is borne from a brilliant lie because the truth is not that interesting.
To conclude, a small note to all of those other talentless hacks out there. The geniuses of the world never die happy; their lives will not be filled with happy family Christmases or contented home lives. They usually die young, burnt out and alone as they can never be truly be satisfied. So, when you take this in consideration, perhaps mediocrity ain't that bad. Perhaps, it is better to be a Salieri than a Mozart!