Film Reviews

Tetro

• Rating:
• Director: Francis Ford Coppola
• Starring: Vincent Gallo
• Details: USA/Italy/Spain/Argentina 127mins 15A

Indie stalwart Vincent Gallo gets a chance to play the tortured artistic genius he probably sees himself as, in this deeply personal Francis Ford Coppola effort exploring what rivalry can do to even the closest of families. Shot in black and white, with flashbacks in colour; Tetro is a gorgeous looking film, full of fine, pensive performances - especially newcomer Alden Ehrenreich. But it drags on far too long, and Coppola can't help but over-indulge himself towards the protracted and uneven conclusion.
Ehrenreich plays Bennie, a young man who has left home to escape his selfish father, and work on a cruise ship. When the ship docks where his estranged older brother, Tetro (Gallo), now lives in Buenos Aires for repair, he tracks him down and attempts to reconnect with his sibling, and figure out why he never came back for him like he promised. But Tetro is still deeply troubled, and has yet to come to terms with his past, or fully comprehend his artistic genius. As the two slowly rebuild their relationship, Tetro's missus, Miranda (a wonderful Maribel Verdú), fills Bennie in on the years he hasn't seen his brother.
Tetro feels like it was edited by either two different directors, or by someone in a vastly different mood, come the ending. An emotional, weighted build-up gives way to something brave, but borderline abstract that works fine as a piece of art, but lacks any sort of emotive coherence. Gallo is still an intense presence on screen, but he often struggles to convey Tetro's lighter side, which could've made a difficult character considerably more poignant.
Ehrenreich's naive, but curious, Bennie is very much the heart of the film, and the young actor plays him just the right side of puppyish, but we don't learn an awful lot about him. He too had a fractured relationship with the same disinterested father, and Coppola obviously wants us to fill in the gaps ourselves. Some viewers will find that frustrating - this one included.
At two hours long, Tetro could've have multiplied its impact with less ponderous character exploration, and a slightly reigned in Gallo. But Coppola has still crafted something always interesting, sometimes engaging, and stunning to look at. It also marks the arrival of a genuine talent in Ehrenreich, an actor we will be hearing plenty of in the future.

Review by Mike Sheridan