Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf January 31, 2015

The full title is “Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon,” which might be a play for irony from writer/director John Maybury, who doesn’t actually make sense of his subject despite having the cinematic tools to do so. A blizzard of images with the occasional blip of emotional clarity, “Love is the Devil” is more of a sensory experience, finding the viewer blasted with the mere idea of Bacon’s intricate appetites in both art and sex, not necessarily gifted a concrete vision of creative stimulus and domestic intent. It’s raw, unhinged work, but it’s often caught servicing Maybury, not the needs of drama.

There isn’t much about Francis Bacon in “Love is the Devil,” with his routine of painting, dangerous sex, and pub time with callous friends handed a superficial overview, captured with distorted cinematography that serves a purpose, but loses potency as the picture unfolds. Bacon was a deceitful, unpleasant man with a short attention span trying to make a bitter relationship with thief-turned-lover George (Daniel Craig) work. This exasperation is hammered into every frame of “Love is the Devil,” extending to nightmare imagery and passages of Bacon’s poetry, with Maybury conjuring a funhouse environment of madness and bloodlust that’s intended to be a road map to the subject’s elusive inspiration. However, a little of this movie goes a long way, despite heroic performances from Craig and Jacobi.

Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Despite a few limitations with the soft source material, the AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation does a commendable job bringing "Love is the Devil" to BD. This isn't a picture interested in sharpness, but the viewing experience does retain plenty of detail, with artistic textures registering crisply and nightmare visits offering appropriate textures to encourage intended sickness. Contrast has a few battles, and crush does have a presence here. However, delineation is mostly acceptable. Colors are satisfactory, providing stable hues on art projects and costuming, and skintones remain natural.

Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix does quite well with its limitations, creating a full sense of madness and artistic activity that never steamrolls over dialogue exchanges. Dramatics are sharp and emotionally true, while group activity in pub scenarios is lively and clean. Music takes command when necessary. Sound effects are the real star of the show, exploring the space with confidence, generating intended aural chaos with crisp separation, allowing the feature's extremes to take hold.

Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary features director John Maybury and actor Derek Jacobi.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (2:12, HD) is included.

Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The finest moments of "Love is the Devil" are found watching Bacon at work, studying his technique and frustration, working out his vision through fits of inspiration. Here is where the artist comes alive. However, Maybury doesn't share the excitement, quickly returning to the sordid details of Bacon's violent sex life and his half-realized capacity for cruelty, keeping "Love is the Devil" tightly bound as an offering of directorial indulgence, not biographic or artistic illumination.