An exquisite experience

Rating: Null/10 (3 October 2001)

A brilliant treatise on artistry and ambition, "Amadeus" tells a largely speculative story about the professional rivalry between Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The historic accuracy is questionable, but that hardly matters as the film is not a meticulous attempt to recreate the Vienna of the Classical Era, but a thoughtful commentary on the arbitrary nature of genius and fame.
The comparison and contrast between the sober Salieri (F. Murray Abraham, whose performance is the driving force of the film) and the vulgar, petulant Mozart (Tom Hulce, whose work here is second only to Abraham's) is in itself worth the price of rental. Both men are passionate souls, driven by their own ideals of artistic perfection. But while Salieri prays in vain for a brilliance that elludes him, Mozart's talent for music is so effortless that at times he seems to take it for granted. Did Salieri descend into madness and engineer the death of a man he both admired and despised? Or did Mozart simply burn himself out with the fire of his own genius? Was the creation of some of the world's greatest music by an impish, rude man a manifestation of a perverse sense of humor in the Divine? The movie prefers not to answer these questions, leaving the audience to carry away its own opinions on the matter.
Then, of course, there is the music itself--some of Mozart's finest works (including one of my favorites, the Mass in C Minor) are highlighted in the production. The operatic staging by Twyla Tharp is marvelous, as are the voices used for the scenes. The costumes magnify the differences between Salieri (somber blacks and browns) and Mozart (garish colors and a variety of outlandish wigs). The end result is facinating, haunting, thought-provoking, and unforgettable.