Andrew Mccarthy Movie:

Editorial Review:
The Criterion Collection release of Under The Volcano reaffirms director John Huston's affinity for tragedies starring outcasts and wayward souls (see also The Misfits and Night of the Iguana). Adapted from Malcolm Lowry's novel set in Cuernavaca, Mexico, 1938, on the eve of WW II, Under The Volcano recounts the tragic life of British Consul Geoffrey Firmin's (Albert Finney) final struggles with alcoholism during Day of the Dead, as his estranged wife, Yvonne (Jaqueline Bisset) returns from New York to patch up their marriage and to encourage his sobering up. From the opening scene, Firmin is relentlessly drunk, mumbling Shakespearean-like rants with a dark sense of humor about the horrors of war and the perils of love. Finney's stunning performance recalls the best of Richard Burton (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), who was originally offered the role. Fortunately for the viewer, Finney was cast, as his compellingly dour portrayal of Firmin is undeniably masterful. Set in bars, restaurants, and amongst the plaza's Dia de los Muertos festivities featuring devils and skeletons alongside garlands and balloons, Under The Volcano's visual splendor underscores the decadence of Finney's drinking habit. There is not a single shot missing a bottle of liquor, and as Finney's health deteriorates the weather in the film subtly mimics his psychological state. The film is as wondrous as it is devastating. Included as extras on this DVD are the Richard Burton-narrated "Volcano: An Inquiry into the Life of Malcolm Lowry," a captivating documentary about the author's life, and an hour-long documentary about the making of the film. --Trinie Dalton

Under the Volcano Reviews:
Albert Finney should have won an Oscar
2009-10-27 - Great Film. Finney's portrayal of the over-the-hill British consul, Geoffrey Firmin, in the last stages of alcoholism, was--as the trailer blurb stated--a tour de force. He so thoroughly inhabits the role of this flawed and courageous expatriate that his every scene seems to breathe with nuanced insights into the plight of a truly tragic character addicted to the demon rum. [Note, for one small, but artful example, the double-triple take he gives his returning ex-wife (standing in the doorway of the cantina) as he originally perceives her to be just another alcohol-induced hallucination]. Jacqueline Bisset (Yvonne Firmin) was never more lovely. Sadly, her past brief adulterous fling with Geoffrey's half brother, created a lasting rift between her and Geoffrey, in spite of their enduring love and respect for each other. What a story: humanity struggling to live at the brink of its limits. I suppose it's been told a lot of times, but it's hard to imagine that it's ever been told better than this. I'm thrilled that Criterion tackled this project, if for no other reason than that we now have a widescreen version, and--for one--we get to see more of Mexico than we did in the full screen versions. Lastly, I would note that the story unfolds in 1938, after the appeasement of Germany by Britain, but before WWII begins in 1939.

Under the spell of Albert Finney...
2009-05-01 - I have been a fan of Albert Finney for a long while now, and so I have been chomping at the bit to finally see this movie for which he receives so many raves. I finally got that chance (although it's been about two months or so now since I did see it) and I have to say that I was utterly blown away, not just by Finney but by this film entirely. Sure, this is `The Albert Finney Show' if we're being realistic here, but his performances is only one part (the biggest part, sure) of a well constructed and brutally honest portrait of human suffering. John Huston, one of the most successful directors of all time, crafts a beautifully tragic look at one man's illness and the dire effect it had on himself and those around him.

`Under the Volcano' will crawl under your skin.

Taking place in Cuernavaca, Mexico during 1938, `Under the Volcano' exposes a day in the life of British Consul Geoffrey Firmin. Reduced to a slobbering drunk, Firmin wastes away in the beautiful countryside, allowing life to practically waltz right past him. During the Mexican festival `Day of the Dead', Firmin's estranged wife, Yvonne returns to aid in nursing him back to health. Helping is Geoffrey's half brother Hugh. While they try, the task seems almost helpless as Geoffrey's condition worsens and his very life becomes threatened by the disease.

Albert Finney and John Huston work wonders with the material, using their talents to the full to create a masterpiece of modern film. As an actor, Finney chews up every bit of this man; creating a realistic portrait of self destruction. Every movement is perfectly accurate and every word is brilliantly conveyed. He is a fearless actor, as he's proven time and time again, and this is his crowning achievement. There is not another actor who I feel could have done what Finney does here. As a director, Huston works just as hard to create a perfect tone for Finney to dwell in. The Mexican backdrop is beyond perfect for this tale, and Huston uses it to his full advantage; creating symbolic focal shifts in order to exasperate Geoffrey's condition.

They are a perfect pair.

The supporting cast, namely Jacqueline Bisset and Anthony Andrews, are wonderful. While they are clearly supporting Finney's `one-man-show' they create their own separate entities (especially Bisset), making themselves notable and memorable. Bissett really understands how to emote the emotional frustrations of her character, and Andrews is as supportive as needed to create a believable sidekick.

The film is as devastating as they come, so be forewarned; this is not a happy picture. The acting, the script, the direction and the overall presentation is top-notch though, so if this is the type of film you go gaga over (I bath in the River Depression, I think I've mentioned that before) then this is a film you will not want to miss.

Finney makes us see Firmin's hell
2009-02-22 - I just saw the movie "Under the Volcano" on TV today.I've seen this movie before, and have always thought Finney's performance was one of the best I've seen in movies.Probably the high point of his career.His drunken portrayal of an ex-Consul, Geoffrey Firmin, who is mired in a quicksand of despair and imminent destruction, is powerful and unforgettable. His dilemma focuses on alcohol: he drinks to avoid despair, but cannot bring himself in his drunken state to reconcile with his ex-wife, which both desperately need, due to her past infidelity with his half-brother and to her barrenness.

A critic [John Barber, Daily Telegraph] said of Finney years before this film that "...we are in the presence of an actor who can enlarge the understanding of human distress, and we can only be grateful." [From Finney's Biography by Quentin Falk] This is the essence, I think, of Finney's triumph in this film. He makes us see Firmin's hell.

I have seen Director John Huston's interview about this film, the 2nd DVD in the Criterion package. Huston says Finney's performance is the finest he has ever seen, and puts Finney, in his view, at the pinnacle of acting talents. Asked why he thought Firmin is in despair, Huston replied "Only God knows." Perhaps it is the grotesque roasting of captive German U-boat officers on the WWI ship Firmin commanded, for which he was cleared of blame. Malcom Lowry's famous novel of the same name offers no further clues. Perhaps it is Lowry's hell, since his book is thought to be autobiographical.



Disappointing
2008-07-04 - Terrible movie, mostly because of the inadequate screenplay. But it might be impossible to film UNDER THE VOLCANO, just as it is impossible to film ULYSSES, because the story is told through the hero's interior monologue. The external events are mundane, boring. The drama is internal.
Also a terrible waste of Albert Finney, a perfect choice for the Consul. The artificiality of the situations (the movie was made on location in Mexico, but feels every bit as artificial as a movie made on a Hollywood soundstage) hamstrings him, and I don't feel he was properly directed by Huston. His drunk act doesn't quite work.
On the bright side, Jacqueline Bissett has never looked so pretty, and her performance is good.

Forget the movie, but go to Netflix and order the bonus CD, which includes the excellent 1976 Canadian documentary about Lowry's life, VOLCANO. Lowry's friends and family are interviewed, and Richard Burton reads the darkly poetic sentences from the book. You don't get an idea of the plot, but you do get an idea of the grimness of Lowry's vision, the "certainty of sorrow and evil."
The documentary begins and ends with the same fateful sentence, read by Burton: "This is how I sometimes think of myself, as a great explorer who has discovered some extraordinary land from which he can never return to give his knowledge to the world: but the name of this land is hell."

I Need A Drink. . .
2008-03-31 - Good grief. UNDER THE VOLCANO was one of the most powerful, disturbing, brilliant novels of the Twentieth Century. Its brilliance was a derivative of its prose, which in turn was the befuddled, delusional musings of the Consul. The reader is inside the head of Geoffery Firmin; unfortunately, the viewer never sees this frightening point of view in John Huston's utterly silly film adaptation of Malcom Lowry's masterpiece.

From its wacky, bizarre opening credits, to its total compression and dehydration (pardon the pun) of Lowry's tale of the fateful events of the Day of the Dead, 1938, this is a movie that goes through the motions. Granted, Albert Finney does an admirable job in the lead role, yet the viewer is never privy to the total madness of the Consul's alcohol-induced dementia; Finney just drinks and rants, then drinks and rants. Jacqueline Bisset and Anthony Andrews seem to be nothing more than unimaginative props; in fact, all the Hispanic extras who move in and out of this film seem to be self-consciously aware they are props and nothing more. (They certainly don't look like people living in central Mexico circa 1938; they look like Eighties contemporaries heading for an MTV music video shoot.) And the distortion of its ending. . .all I can say is: Blasphemous. Well, I can say something more: Howler.

This Criterion Collection is a two-disc set; extra features include scene commentaries by Danny Huston (who did the bizarre opening credits) and screenplay writer Guy Gallo. The second disc includes a recent interview with Bisset (who basically laments she was the only female on the set), and a Canadian-made documentary about the tumultuous life of Malcom Lowry. This documentary is easily the darkest, most depressing production I have ever seen (and I've seen some lulus, folks). All in all, an adaptation that doesn't do the book justice, coupled with vanilla extra features and a brooding documentary, make UNDER THE VOLCANO a very forgettable viewing experience.
--D. Mikels, Author, The Reckoning