DUET FOR ONE: Blu-ray (Cannon/Golan-Globus, 1986) Kino Lorber

A trio of fine thespians – Julie Andrews, Max Von Sidow and Alan Bates – lend ‘name recognition’ to a marquee, though not much else in director, Andrei Konchalovsky’s Duet for One (1986), a thoroughly maudlin, overwrought, and, only occasionally heartfelt and sentimental account of an accomplished violinist, Stephanie Anderson, whose world is turned upside down with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. In the title role, Andrews has several good scenes in which to distinguish her formidable dramatic acting chops, first exorcised to far better effect, decades earlier in The Americanization of Emily (1964). Yet, herein, the only quality Andrews can muster is wide-eyed tedium and intermittent frustration. Andrews and Max Von Sidow had costarred before, in the heavy-handed roadshow epic, Hawaii (1966) – curiously, to become the highest-grossing picture of that year.  Herein, third-billed Von Sidow is mournfully miscast as Dr. Louis Feldman, the empathetic psychoanalyst, trying to get Stephanie over the ‘hump’ of her rapidly advancing illness. As Steph’s unimpressive and butterflying hubby, David Cornwallis, Alan Bates is bloated, brainless and barely recognizable, looking more like a half-made-up, bad Ron Perlman knock-off from the 80’s reboot of Beauty and the Beast than the Oscar-nominated, dashing leading man of yore.

Also wasted, a very young Rupert Everett, whose flaming histrionics as Stephanie’s temperamental accompanist, Constantine Kassanis leave much to be desired, Margaret Courtenay as Stephanie’s exotic booking agent, Sonia Randvich – trying much too hard to affect an artistic bent, and, Liam Neeson, briefly as Stephanie’s cockney concubine, Totter, entering her life at a particularly vulnerable interlude and given her prized Stratovarius (estimated at a cool $250,000) to auction off, presumably as a parting gesture to make life easier for him and his nondescript wife (Siobhan Redmond) and daughter (Paula Figgett). They are so non-descript the screenplay does not even afford them names. Duet for One is such a ludicrous cacophony of what Shakespeare acutely labeled as ‘sound and fury - signifying nothing.’ The audience is left to insincerely blush or marvel at the obscene waste of it all.

Stephanie’s breakdown at Royal Albert Hall transfers into a weirdly garish ‘dream sequence,’ while her third-act admonishment of Feldman, as incapable of understanding the truest comprehension of mental anguish incurred by his patients, is as cruel as it is misguided. At every turn, our empathy for Stephanie Anderson turns to vinegar. While the inference here is an artist’s life is tortured and lonely, from all points of human interaction dissolved into varying degrees of sycophantic worship, Duet for One completely ignores that the fate of our protagonist is mostly by her own design. Stephanie has remained in a loveless marriage, placating David’s monstrous ‘performance art’ merely to keep him tethered to her side, while knowing – even admiring his infidelities with multiple paramours throughout their entire marriage. After it becomes quite clear Stephanie Anderson will never play the concert circuit again, David’s departure with his ‘assistant’, Penny Smallwood (Cathryn Harrison) is more inevitable, than devastating. Duet for One is supposed to be about exploring ‘last act’ finales when life presents us with more roadblocks than destinations left to conquer. Alas, the story quickly becomes so suffocating and insular, the audience, like Stephanie Anderson, simply wish for an escape – even a respite – from this mendacity floating in the ether.   

Duet for One is based on a play by Tom Kempinski, to enjoy something of a run at Britain’s Bush Theatre with Frances de la Tour and David de Keyser in the leads, yet barely to last 20 performances on Broadway, starring Anne Bancroft and Von Sidow. Kempinski also wrote the screenplay for this movie adaptation. This may account for its stage-bound quality. Or perhaps Konchalovsky’s leaden direction is to blame, relying on a series of dejectedly executed close-ups intercut into some medium-shot photography better suited for a BBC movie of the week. The direction is pedestrian at best. At its worst, there are interminable stretches of run-time devoted to Julie Andrew’s wistful stares out a window. We get it. This is a very dark chapter in Stephanie Anderson’s life. Rather than unearthing these poignant bits from its woeful lamentation, perhaps as a quiet reminder of the remaining good in these emeritus years, the screenplay instead slogs to its unctuous death knell, clubbing all hope and promise, until only sad and ugly embers from the past remain fit for the harvesting in memory.

Duet for One embarks upon this apocalyptic decline into melancholy with a curious travelogue through London during a windswept, rainy afternoon. As a tour guide points out the highlights, the bus tour passes Royal Albert Hall where posters advertise Stephanie Anderson’s upcoming concert series. Cut to a cloistered doctor’s office. A pensive Dr. Feldman listens intensely as Stephanie unravels the reason for her visit. Her husband, David, feels she is prone to fitful depression ever since learning of her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Rather than address this issue, Feldman plies his patient with apple-polishing praise, and then, ingratiates himself into a pair of free tickets to the ‘sold out’ concert. Cut to a rehearsal between Stephanie and her protégée, Constantine Kassanis, accompanied on the piano by Leonid Lefimov (Sigfrit Steiner). Stephanie is critical of Constantine’s playing, but only in her fervent desire to see him succeed. Steph’ is certain, Con’ has a great future ahead of him.

Bittersweetly, while celebrating her birthday at home in the company of a few friends, Stephanie’s fingering during an impromptu recital freezes. While the others, including David, Sonia and Penny, and the ever- devoted house maid/cook, Anya (Macha Méril) feign not to have heard this infraction, Constantine has a complete meltdown – accusing the gathering of being insincere to a great artist on the cusp of losing her talent. From this moment forward, Duet for One bears out the truth in Con’s frustration. Stephanie suffers a nightmare. In it, she imagines her Royal Albert Hall debut to a packed house, suddenly unable to play and forcibly removed from the stage by David, who straps her into a waiting wheelchair. The audience aghast in the moment, turn to Constantine who slyly winks at his mentor as she is carted off screaming. Shortly thereafter, Stephanie is forced to cancel all public engagements. She turns to Sonia to arrange a new recording contract, desperate to put down for immortality, whatever remaining examples of her talent are pliable for the asking.

But shortly thereafter, Stephanie is forced to acknowledge David’s roving eye has turned to Penny. The couple argue and David moves out. Stephanie has a brief fling with Totter but, after witnessing his embarrassingly bad and lowbrow karaoke singing, she realizes there is no future in their love affair. It ends with a parting gift – her Stratovarius, the last tangible from the life she must surrender to her disease. Sometime later, Stephanie learns Totter has auctioned off the violin to provide much-needed financial support to his wife and daughter. In the meantime, Constantine announces he has accepted an American contract – lucrative, but to debase his talent as a Vegas performer. Stephanie is outraged. He has so much more to offer the world.

Nevertheless, Con’ departs for America and Stephanie gradually settles into a new reality: she is fast fading to her debilitation condition. A year passes. Having sold the lavish house shared with David, Stephanie now lives mostly as a recluse in a tiny cottage with Anya, who still attends to her every need. On Stephanie’s birthday, the clan reunites. We discover David has since made an honest woman of Penny. She is expecting his child. Sonia and Dr. Feldman, along with David and Penny, accompany Stephanie to her favorite tree in a nearby clearing. Constantine also returns. He has sold out for money, but is contented with this arrangement. Stephanie is happy for him. As the brood retreats to the cottage at twilight in preparation for the traditional birthday cake-cutting, Stephanie peers through a dewy window pane at the celebration in her honor, but turns away at the last moment, making her solitary pilgrimage to the tree in the clearing instead.

Duet for One is depressing. All of life, not even what gets distilled and depicted at the movies, need be pretty to be meaningful. But Duet for One is just sluggishly dire from start to finish. There is no emancipation for our heroine, no affirmation either, that despite her changing world, nothing can deprive Stephanie Anderson of her innate dignity as a woman – or, as an artist of considerable repute.  That message gets lost because there is only the dreck of life to reconsider in Kempinski’s screenplay. The modus operandi should have been in Stephanie Anderson’s affirmation – a true ‘duet for one’ played with no regrets or apologies for the life she has lived.  Instead, there is only regret. This movie is like foreplay without the payoff, zeroing in on the effort without the result; seeing only the pain we inflict on those we otherwise pretend to love more than ourselves, though especially, when painted into a corner of deeply toxic self-loathing and darkly purposed, brittle and festering remorse for the things we didn’t do in life.  Best performance goes to Julie Andrews who produces several glimmers where we can almost believe the life of Stephanie Anderson was something finer than a colossally bad joke. Winner of the Golden Razzie - Alan Bates, playing to a stupor of befuddled world-weariness that goes nowhere fast and offers nothing to elevate either his performance or its contributions to the story at large.

Duet for One arrives on Blu-ray via Kino Lorber’s alliance with MGM, the custodians of the old Cannon Films catalog. Important to note, the picture was actually made by Golan-Globus Productions, usually known for scraping the bottom of the barrel in C-grade actioners like Over the Top (1987), crude comedies (1978’s Lemon Popsicle) and cheap horror flicks (1981’s X-Ray). Perhaps, this was Cannon’s stab at what it then considered ‘art house’ or ‘highbrow.’ If so, they should have stuck to their métier and left the heavy-lifting to Merchant-Ivory. This one is being advertised by Kino as sourced from a new 2K from an interpositive. It doesn’t look it. Alex Thomson’s cinematography was never intended to be razor-sharp. But contrast levels here are anemic at best. While some fine detail occasionally materializes in close-ups, medium and long shots are very softly focused. Film grain is thick. The color palette skews to steely blue/grays for the exteriors, and overly warm reds/browns and oranges elsewhere. Flesh adopts an piggy pink gloss or ruddy orange complexion. The 2.0 DTS is adequate for this primarily dialogue-driven movie. Extras are limited to a commentary by filmmaker, Daniel Kremer about as inspiring as the movie…enough said. There are also trailers for this and other similarly-themed dramas Kino is peddling to market. Bottom line: Duet for One is a forgettable, wrist-slitting drama. This Blu-ray is a marginal step up from DVD...very marginal! There are better ways to spend a rainy afternoon.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

1

VIDEO/AUDIO

2.5

EXTRAS

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