Venus

Peter O'Toole - Maurice
Leslie Phillips - Ian
Jodie Whittaker - Jessie
Richard Griffiths - Donald

Roger Michell’s ‘Venus’ is an examination of a cross-generational relationship between a veteran actor and his close friends young niece. Michell’s sharp-eyed study of lust and death could be considered something of a companion piece to his earlier film, The Mother, which was also well served by Hanif Kureishi’s characteristically witty and bracing screenplay. A superb cast is led by Peter O’Toole’s mischievously silver-tongued performance and Jodie Whittaker’s impressive debut as a credibly uncouth and uneducated young woman. Stellar lived-in support comes courtesy of Vanessa Redgrave, Leslie Phillips and Richard Griffiths.

Decrepit, still-jobbing actor Maurice (Peter O'Toole) frequents a local coffee shop with fellow fading thespians Ian (Leslie Phillips) and Donald (Richard Griffiths), but the arrival in London of Ian’s bolshie teenage great-niece Jessie (Jodie Whittaker) rudely interrupts the daily routine. Ageing lothario Maurice takes it upon himself to broaden the girl’s horizons. A wary platonic rapport develops between the two, with the adolescent gradually, and with ambiguous consequences learning how to harness the power of her own appeal.