Movie Review: Filmworker

Filmworker *** ½ / *****

Directed by: Tony Zierra.

 

In the early 1970s, Leon Vitali was a promising young British actor – getting roles on stage and screen, and quietly building up his reputation. He was never a star, but who knows what would have happened had he stuck with acting. But Vitali decided to sacrifice that aspect of his life and career when he was cast in Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon – in a key role, as the title characters bratty (but not wholly incorrect) stepson. Vitali had already been blown away by Kubrick’s last two films – 2001 and A Clockwork Orange – and really wanted to work for Stanley Kubrick. After his role in Barry Lyndon, he barely did anything else.

 

Instead of going on to have a career as a working actor, Vitali threw himself at the opportunity to work for Kubrick – in any and all capacities. His first job was finding the right child actor to play Danny in The Shining – and then he basically stuck by young Danny Lloyd’s side throughout the entire filming of the movie (something the now adult Lloyd is obviously thankful for). He also found the twin girls – he was only supposed to be looking for one, but thought the twins were so creepy that it worked. He was right. He later performed a similar role for R. Lee Ermey on Full Metal Jacket – Ermey wasn’t an actor yet, but knew he wanted this role – it was Leon recording Ermey, then just a military consultant on the film, that convinced Kubrick to cast him – and then he was basically Ermey’s acting coach for the rest of the shoot.

 

What else did Vitali do for Kubrick? It would probably take less time to say what he didn’t do. He was basically Kubrick’s assistant, who would do any and everything for his mentor – from supervising new transfers of the film, to reviewing the subtitles and dubs of his films for foreign release, to the posters, to cleaning up Kubrick’s house. Kubrick is famous for being a perfectionist, and his standards for Vitali were high – but Vitali met those standards. In doing so, he sacrificed much of his normal life – although there are three kids, that the movie doesn’t really go into much detail about (they’re in the film, and love their dad clearly, but there is something there the movie doesn’t delve into).

 

The portrait of Kubrick in Filmworker is about what you would expect – he was a perfectionist, he could be a demanding taskmaster full of unreasonable demands, and at times downright cruel. He could also be warm and kind to Vitali. He clearly trusted him to oversee so much of his work. Kubrick was demanding, and he demanded those who worked for him to be as committed as he was. As interviews with people like Ryan O’Neal, Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey and Danny Lloyd make clear, Vitali was one of the only ones who was willing to commit his life to what Kubrick wanted. And Vitali never got back what he deserved for what he put in (you would think that someone like Kubrick would take care of Vitali, after he worked with him for decades – but as one son says that there were times after Kubrick died where he had to basically support his father). In Kubrick’s eyes, all Vitali did was exactly what he was supposed to do.

 

The one person in the film that never complains about Stanley though is Vitali. Everyone in the film recognized that Kubrick was a genius – but most of them say they could not be in his orbit for the years Vitali was. For Vitali though, it was about the work – service to the greatest filmmaker of all time, and making sure his vision was preserved. We have Vitali to thank for preserving and restoring so much of the master’s work for future generations – and I’m happy to say that at the end of the film, Vitali is back working with the Kubrick estate again on further projects.

 

As a film, Filmworker isn’t quite as visionary as you may want it to be. It’s pretty standard talking heads, archival footage stuff – and you almost want it to get more into the nitty gritty of it all – Vitali kept notes on everything, and you want to see more of that. But it’s a fascinating film just the same – a portrait of Kubrick and his genius, yes – but also a portrait of a man who willing sacrificed so much in service of that genius.