AT ETERNITY’S GATE: Willem Dafoe Shines In Frustrating Biopic

There is this desire to proclaim that At Eternity’s Gate is a standout success in the line of films that premiered in 2018. I want to say that the depiction of a revered painter, who potentially fell victim to the judgment of those around him, was truly honored in a film set to capture his light. Unfortunately, it is hard to praise At Eternity’s Gate, as its failures show brighter than its successes.

The first 20-minutes of the film feel like eternity – the only thing keeping myself in my seat was the fact that I had selected to do this review. Painfully slow and with a warped filming style, it was difficult to understand the attraction to the film and the decisions that had been made during its filming. Basically, all Willem Dafoe does for the first 20-minutes of the film is stare at a canvas, which does lend itself to exquisite painting, and running – always running.

While it is to be understood that he is always running both literally and psychologically, the representation is too literal, becoming a droning and mind-numbing literation to a man whose life was ruled, both good and bad, by his insanity (insanity that many believe was lead-induced as it was an element in the paint on the finger tips and fingernails he would bite).

At Eternity’s Gate had the potential to be a knock-out-of-the-ballpark and it would have been a slam dunk film if it had not been trying so hard to be obviously indie. Better editing decisions, an absence of the hokey camera angles and shots, and a more welcoming invitation to viewers would have brought At Eternity’s Gate to a whole new level.

The Ups

Not everything within the film was a disappointment, failing to live up to the expectations I had set before walking into the theater. There were in fact numerous elements that struck gold, painting a picture that many will find entertaining and informative.

Willem Dafoe, Willem Dafoe, Willem Dafoe. All the critical praise and nominations he has receive this awards season thus far, and I am sure will continue, are well deserved. This is honestly one of the best performances of his career. He is by far the largest success of the film, a weight he handles with ease and expertise. If there is a reason to recommend At Eternity’s Gate, it is for his performance.

Never mind his ability, he simple looks like Vincent Van Gogh. In the film’s early scenes, he is dressed in the blue suit and hat many can recognize from depictions of the artist, including one of his own self portraits. It was a brilliant decision to present Dafoe so early on in the film in this apparel, as it honed in further the likeness between him and the character. With instant strength in the believability, there is a deeper connection and empathy that is created between Van Gogh and the audience. Honestly, beyond Dafoe‘s awards potential this season, make-up and costume design seem just as probable for attention as any other film in the running this year.

Beyond acting and the technical aspects of the film, it is quickly apparent the amount of research that went into the production of At Eternity’s Gate, starting from script all the way to the above elements of makeup and costume design. For many years, it was believed that Van Gogh had actually killed himself, a gunshot wound to the stomach, yet the film utilizes new information surrounding his death, perfectly depicting his new theorized tragic end.

It is now theorized that he was actually murdered by young men in the town, many claiming he had terrorized the community in his drunken and insane rants. It is also believed the town, aware of the wrongdoings of their young members, hide the truth from the world, allowing the ruling of suicide to find its way into history. It is this reveal that finds one of its most beautifully filmed moments in At Eternity’s Gate, a wounded Van Gogh struggling to seek help, while an indifferent town watches him, no offer of aid to be handed out.

Beyond his death, there is also the inclusion that Van Gogh did not cut off his ear for a woman, but rather in a moment of loneliness and insanity, a move that was made to try and bring a friend back to him. While he had given the ear to a prostitute in the bar, it was never meant for her. The examples of the extensive research go beyond ears and death, showcasing the power history has on a man’s life and the understanding that we can never truly know the truth.

The Downs

The most difficult part I had reconciling with my lack of love for At Eternity’s Gate was that there is not much to complain about in the film. The failure of the film, then, comes from the elements that were unsuccessful, overshadowing every other aspect that was, a weight dragging it to the abyss below. When the film ended, it was the negative aspects that truly show through, resonating after the film had ended, the successful elements taking time to permeate into my mind and consciousness, their reveal too late to save an already shaped opinion. This film may be one that needs a Take Two.

The use of wavy hand-held camera techniques, especially in the film’s most challenging moments for audience attention, are distracting and disorienting, making it difficult to connect with the film. While I understand the decision behind it, the unfocused mind of an artist whose thoughts are disoriented until the focusing in on the canvas, it was again too obvious, as though I was being led to water to drink. It seems there may have been a better way to depict the madness within, and some with seasick stomachs may find the use of this filming technique to be disconcerting.

This is especially prevalent when Van Gogh returns home one evening, with the urge to paint something, anything. The weird experimental filming at the beginning, as Van Gogh is considering what to paint, eventually settling on his shoes, this winding, bending and shakiness of the camera are exasperating and tiresome. This may be as a means to create an uneasy feeling in the audience as there was one within the painter, with only the act of painting easing this uneasiness – yet, there is nothing to ease the audience.

This scene, of course, is contained in the first 20-minutes mentioned earlier in the article, somewhere between the running and the blurred vision. Oh, and lest I forget the blurred line of sight. There was a conscious decision made behind this choice, as it appears throughout the entire film, but to what end? Walking out of the film, viewers may be left wondering if the film was alluding that Van Gogh had been going blind, many times the blur contained to the lower half of the screen. It made sense for this use in an iris form during the artist’s blackouts, a tinted sepia lighting heightening the meaning, yet when the blur is used outside of this context it lends itself to poor filming rather than existential meaning behind a character and drive.

That Final Scene

There is a moment within At Eternity’s Gate where many of the film’s concerning and successful decisions culminate into one of the best scenes of the year. After all the running displayed in the film, there is a moment where it all makes sense.

After being shot, Van Gogh finds the strength to make his way across the field and back to the village, reaching the doctor he had befriended some time earlier. As he struggles to make his way back to town, he is seen reaching the top of a hill, a hill that he would have once found euphoria in, its height giving him the view of the horizon – a view of eternity’s gate. Yet, as the fog and overcast blocks what would have once been an exquisite view, he is left with the vision of his bleak future and the darkness closing in around him. As he reaches the top, clutching his stomach, we are reminded of all the scenes in which he has been showcased throughout the entire film just running. It is at this moment, we realize, his time has come – he can stop running now.

At Eternity’s Gate: Conclusion