The Best Offer

Ratings: 8.8/10

Film Class: C+

Genre: Mystery Drama

This is Geoffrey Rush's best cinematic performance yet, and I thought he would never be able to match his portrayal of Barbossa in Pirates of the Carribean... Geoffrey Rush is Virgil, a master auctioneer who has a dark secret. Not wanting to give too much away, let's just say he's a lonely old man, afraid of women and is an expert in authenticating and identifying great art pieces. Things took a turn went he gradually gets intrigued by a heiress who suffers from an illness called agoraphobia - an anxiety disorder where the person is afraid of crowded places. It's more extreme in this movie, the lead actress has never even been seen by anyone and hides behind secret rooms in her villa. 

It started engaging, rather entertaining, then interesting... and finally, it became hard to watch. Considering I just came back from my Europe honeymoon, where I covered most parts of Italy, I was drawn into the artistic element of this movie. There's a variety of art pieces showcased, though I know zilch, I'm sure there's some pretty famous pieces shown. And the last scene in Prague of the Astronomical Clock really brought back good memories. 

There's a few questionable characters/items here and there, was wondering why they even existed... but it all came to light at the ending. No hidden rooms were left unopened, thankfully, so it provided a good closure. The ending scene playfully tickles the audience's expectations and created a glimmer of hope... if that's how you see it. 

Lots of dialogue, this movie constantly grasps the audience's attention not by the amount of fast-paced action, but purely by its witty and engaging scripting. And of course, the female lead's mysteriously gorgeous, fitting to her role. Due to Virgil's initial stoic nature, it was a delight to see his "transformation" in the name of love... and Geoffrey Rush was so convincing I could totally empathise with him. 

*spoilers ahead* Subtle finesses such as his OCD with wearing gloves and his obession with female art portraits hints several important character traits. When he first touched the heiress's face, it was without his glove, and his obsession with the particular type of art pieces illustrates his deepest desire, despite his obvious shyness towards them. 

There were also several hints dropped along the way, like Hansel and Gretel dropping their biscuits. Whether or not you bother to pick up the pieces is up to you, but even if you were to step over them, completely oblivious, the ending wraps up everything just right, in your face.

I'm very fond of this movie, and at the start, I kept wondering how the title comes into play... why "The Best Offer"? And the context of its relevance (which makes sense) was pretty ingenious. I'm sold.