Overprivileged American couple Jake (John Malkovich) and Tina (Andie MacDowell) are stuck in the yuppie 80s. They love their Giorgio Armani wardrobes and Manolo Blahnik shoes.
The trouble is that Jake, a commodities broker, has just lost a bundle. Now he and Tina are unexpectedly broke in a chic London hotel. They’re even considering eating in.
The two stars prove to be a smashing romantic match. Malkovich’s intelligence suggests unplumbed depths beneath Jake’s slick veneer. And MacDowell, freed from the constraints of a confection like Green Card, shows a liberating flair for sexual high jinks – she’s developing into a dazzling comic actress.
Writer-director Michael Lindsay-Hogg sets up the conflict in the form of a small Henry Moore bronze. The piece (called ‘Head on a Bone Base’ and borrowed for the film) belongs to Tina. It’s worth $35,000. Jake wants to sell it. Tina doesn’t.
When the piece disappears, Jake thinks she’s hidden it, and Tina thinks he’s hocked it.
In fact, the sculpture has been stolen by the hotel’s deaf chambermaid (Rudi Davies), who merely wants to bask in the object’s beauty.
When Jake and Tina let their mutual suspicion lead to deception, Lindsay-Hogg serves up a fizzy Noel Coward cocktail with a dash of Harold Pinter bitters.
Produced as part of the BBC’s Screen Two anthology, The Object of Beauty is a shrewdly observed, intoxicating romance that makes emotional maturity a witty proposition.
Jake
John Malkovich Tina Oates
Andie MacDowell Joan
Lolita Davidovich Jenny
Rudi Davies Mr Mercer
Joss Ackland Victor Swayle
Bill Paterson Steve
Ricci Harnett Lawrence (Larry) Oates
Peter Riegert Mr Slaughter
Jack Shepherd Mrs Doughty
Rosemary Martin Frankie
Roger Lloyd Pack Gordon
Andrew Hawkins Art Evaluator
Pip Torrens Mr Mundy
Stephen Churchett Housekeeper
Annie Hayes Night Porter
Richard Ireson Auctioneer
Barry J. Gordon Jonathan
Jeremy Sinden Melissa
Ginger Corbett Mark
Cole Parker Enrico
Massimo Burlini
Director
Michael Lindsay-Hogg
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The two stars prove to be a smashing romantic match. Malkovich’s intelligence suggests unplumbed depths beneath Jake’s slick veneer. And MacDowell, freed from the constraints of a confection like Green Card, shows a liberating flair for sexual high jinks – she’s developing into a dazzling comic actress.
