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Review: Bent

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I had heard the Mick Jagger was great in Bent so I decided I had to see it. I couldn’t figure out why people were so surprised that he did well as a singing Drag Queen. Mick plays Greta, the owner and star attraction of a gay nightclub in 1930s Berlin. Fifteen minutes into the film, Greta leaves the gay life to become a family man named George. He has become a Nazi informer and he knows that gays are on the hit list. When last we see him, he is walking into a church – and out of the film.

That’s it. Fifteen minutes. Yet he is listed as one of the “stars” of the film. I guess it’s not surprising since Sir Ian McKellen (X-men, Apt Pupil) is also listed as one of the stars and he only has one scene. I guess the producers of the film thought having those two big names listed up front would help things. In fact, McKellen and Jagger are shown on the video cover along with the actual stars of the film Clive Owen (“Second Sight” televison series) and Lothaire Bluteau (I Shot Andy Warhol).

But what about the film itself? The synopsis from Reel.com says: “Stylish adaptation of brutal play (by Martin Sherman) about two men in Nazi concentration camp. Examines homosexual oppression and liberation rather than investigating Nazi era. Ideal for adult drama fans unfazed by material.”

The film is dark. How could a film about two gay men a concentration camp be anything but dark? I usually avoid war films, especially films about Nazi concentration camps. I know enough about what went on. It sickens me. I don’t want to watch movies about it. It’s not my idea of entertainment. See what I put myself through for this page?

One of the good points is that it is not too brutal. The film tries to concentrate on the relationship between Max (Owen) and Horst (Bluteau) while pointing out the absurdity of the Nazi regime.

For those of you that have trouble with mismatched accents, you’d be advised to stay away from this film. Having been made in England with some government funding, all of the actors, with the exception of Bluteau, are English. This means that you have Germans with British accents all over the place. Once you get used to that, Bluteau shows up with his French Canadian accent. It is a little disconcerting at first. If you can get past the accents, you will see that the movie is very well cast.

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