In
Conversation Piece, a retired and reclusive professor (Burt Lancaster)
lives alone in a luxurious house in Rome, full of books, paintings and
art. The ‘conversation piece’ of the
title refers to portraits well-to-do families would have done of themselves in
their finery to be a point of discussion. He has dedicated himself to the
collection and preservation of these tangible things and ironically shut out
people almost completely. The
professor’s life is one of order and refinement, removed from the vulgarity of
the outside world and people. When he is
forced via the demands, cajoling and borderline bribery of a countess to rent
his upstairs apartment to her and her coarse companions he eventually begins to
question his choice of solitude. His
tranquil, meditative existence is rudely (even literally) shattered by the
countess and her boorish lover Konrad (for whom the apartment was really
rented), as well as her daughter and her daughter’s companion. Despite this, it stirs up memories and
thoughts within the professor that a different kind of life might have been his
if he had made other choices and let people in.
Luchino Visconti had worked
with Burt Lancaster 11 years previously on the highly regarded The Leopard (it’s
one of Martin Scorsese’s favourite films).
That film dealt with a similar kind of theme as Lancaster’s ailing
prince was forced to deal with the social changes of the 1860s as they impacted
his family. Conversation Piece is
a more intimate treatise on change of a kind, and although it might seem
initially more about the clash between young and old, it’s more about the
interior life of the professor and the challenges he faces from these outsiders
as they unravel his isolation. Although
the foul-mouthed Konrad might smoke and drink and put his feet up on the
professor’s coffee table, the young man also has a sensitive side and an
affection for Mozart and shows real interest in – and an understanding of – the portrait pictures in the professor’s
collection. As with many who do, when
making judgements on others the professor finds his broad opinions don’t
reflect the layers present within people.
And then it happens: even though these interlopers bring a chaos to his
order that the professor fears, he is forced to admit he might want, indeed desire
the messiness that comes with the real human contact he has purposely shunned
for so long. The relationship that
develops between the professor and Konrad becomes the heart of the film.
As he approached the twilight of his
career, Burt Lancaster had made the switch from youthful action star to subtle
character acting and that’s in clear evidence here in his sad-eyed, melancholic
performance. Visconti creates a world
outside of time in the professor’s house (there’s no other set) that’s at once
artificially unreal and emblematic of his interior life. It’s a sumptuous and beautiful film, lushly
made, contemplative and rich in subtext that should reward further viewings.
CONVERSATION PIECE / CERT: 18 /
DIRECTOR: LUCHINO VISCONTI / SCREENPLAY: SUCO CECCHI D’AMICO / STARRING: BURT
LANCASTER, HELMUT BERGER, SILVANA MANGANO, CLAUDIA MARSANI, STEFANO PATRIZI /
RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
