Sometimes there are movies you watch simply to admire the performances within, and Georgetown is one of those movies. The film is based off true events; however, for those who may not be aware, when a movie says that it simply means that something similar to the story happened and creative liberties were taken from there. In the case of Georgetown the script is based off of the New York Times magazine article, “The Worst Marriage in Georgetown,” which was about a 91-year old Washington socialite named Viola Herms Drath who married a man 44-years younger and was killed at the age of 91.
The film stars Christoph Waltz, Vanessa Redgrave and Annette Bening, and each give strong performances here that help keep the film interesting. That’s not to say that the story itself is boring, because it’s not; it’s just that the way it’s presented is less captivating than was likely anticipated. The film follows Ulrich Mott (Waltz), an ambitious social climber who is also a master at the art of lying and using it to get what he needs. It’s unclear whether Mott believes some of his own lies, but he certainly does take them on as though they’re true – such as constantly wearing the uniform of a Brigadier General in the Iraqi Army after he said he was given the rank.
The movie begins with Mott already married to 91 year-old socialite Elsa Breht (Redgrave), and after a brief tiff Mott goes on a walk to smoke his cigar (in full Brigadier uniform.) The following day Mott is being interviewed by police as he found the body of his wife the night before upon returning home from his walk. When they leave he turns to Elsa’s daughter Amanda (Bening,) who was in the room with them and says that there will be a time to grieve but for now he must get to work in bringing to justice the person who murdered his wife.
We then jump back in time and that’s how the film presents itself moving forward, as we go back to when Mott first met Elsa, and how he lied his way into her life, and we return to the present day where Elsa’s death has been declared a homicide and Mott has been arrested and put on trial for her murder. So we go back and forth learning about how Mott climbed the social ladder in Washington and into much crazier scenarios while also watching Mott smooth talk his way through the trial, constantly ridiculing his appointed lawyers and not understanding how he’s the prime suspect when the true killer is clearly still on the loose.
Waltz is so good in the role that he does keep things engaging when it comes to wanting to see what Mott may do next, but that can only hold a film for so long. His chemistry with Redgrave is also superb, and the two really carry the majority of the film to a level that lesser actors just wouldn’t have been able to do. Waltz is pulling double duty this time around, as Georgetown is his directorial debut. It’s clear that Waltz’s time as an actor has helped him gain an understanding of how to construct a scene, as he truly does know how to keep things captivating when there’s nothing but dialogue to work with, and it’ll be great to see his future work behind the camera when he has stronger materials to work with.
One of the big issues is that as the film heads towards its climax we’ve been groomed from the start to know that Mott is a pathological liar, so when various reveals begin to present themselves in a way that feels as though we, as an audience, should be as shocked by them as most were at the end of The Sixth Sense…well, it’s less surprise and more a mundane, “Well, yeah…” response that they’re met with.
It also doesn’t help that after following Mott on his journey up the social ladder in Washington that the film ends rather abruptly. It feels as though the story was only interesting enough to tell when Waltz was able to showcase his fantastic acting skills while weaving together all the lies that Mott told, and once that had run its course there was no real regard for taking even a few minutes to properly touch on any comeuppance Mott may face. There’s a way to take this embellished, fictional take based on true events and add the levels needed to take it to the next level, but that just isn’t the film that was made here. Instead, Georgetown is a film that’s recommended if you’re a fan of the actors involved because they truly do deliver – I only wish the story itself could’ve done the same.
Video and Audio Review:
The picture transfer looks good as a whole here, with the picture looking as sharp as one could hope for throughout. There are plenty of night scenes, and some darker scenes in secluded rooms and yet the blacks never look crushed or muddy, which is a big plus. As a whole the picture just looks nice and clean throughout, never distracting and never something to pull attention away from the performances at hand where the focus should always be.
On the audio side of things the film sounds strong on all fronts for a character driven piece like this. The score shines through nicely, and the dialogue is also clean and easy to distinguish thanks to a solid overall sound mix.
Special Features:
There are no special features to be found on the disc, which is somewhat unfortunate. It would’ve been nice to have had a commentary by Waltz, but at the same time it’s also understandable that sometimes these things just aren’t meant to be.
Paramount Pictures Presents Georgetown. Directed by: C. Waltz. Written by: David Auburn. Starring: Christoph Waltz, Vanessa Redgrave, Annette Bening. Running time: 99 Minutes. Rating: 14A. DVD Released: June 22, 2021.
About Brendan Campbell
