I watched Little Ashes last night. It’s a movie centered on the eccentric life of artist Salvador Dali and his questionable friendship with poet Federico Garcia Lorca. Robert Pattinson was cast as Dali– a bold move, which paid off in the end. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about Pattinson tackling the role of the eccentric, mustachioed artist, but truly captured Dali’s over the top antics, artistic passion, and complex sexuality issues. After watching the film, I of course wanted to research Dali’s life and see how his actual biography compared. I was astounded and pleased to learn that much of the film was accurate to his life. So often times Hollywood biographies take too many liberties with the lives of the people that they are depicting; however, this is not the case in Little Ashes. Although some scenes may be out of sequence, the director took immense care to not deviate too much from Dali’s real life.
There are a few scenes, however, that are questionable. There is an implied love affair throughout the movie between Dali and Lorca, with a few scenes of the two men kissing, but not getting further. At one point they attempt to consummate their love, but Dali rejects Lorca, saying that “it hurts.” While Dali was still alive he had denied any allegations of homosexuality, insisting that Lorca came onto him, but he rejected. However, it is rumored that near the end of his life, Dali admitted to having some sort of romantic relationship with Lorca.
Whether this relationship happened or not, it is obvious from the film that Dali suffered from a lot of sexual problems. In the film, whenever Dali would get close with Lorca in a physical way, he would start to shutter and have a panic attack. Although the reason is not explained in the movie, outside research suggests that the reason for his sexual intimacy problems stemmed from his father. His father, being of a very strict religious background, discouraged Dali from engaging in any type of intercourse and began showing him pictures of inflamed syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases when Dali was a young boy. These pictures stayed with Dali his whole life and haunted him to the point that he equated all sex with these awful pictures.
Pattinson does a wonderful job portraying Dali’s confusion at his own sexuality and his desire for human contact. Perhaps one of the most depressing and twisted scenes is the film is when Lorca makes love with a female friend and Dali watches from a corner in the room, supposedly masturbating. It is implied that because of his fears, this is the closest he can be to someone in a sexual manner.
The end of the film is very emotional– Dali ascends to wealth and power in Paris, marries a socialite (Gala), and shuts Lorca out of his life, apparently overwhelmed by Lorca’s love for him. He sees Lorca one last time and offers to collaborate on an opera with him, but Lorca refuses, asserting that Dali has changed and is no longer the same person he once knew. Lorca then is kidnapped from his family home and executed by Spanish Nationalists who do not agree with the poet’s outspoken, free-thinking ideas.
The last scene in the film is Dali, receiving the news of Lorca’s death, and covering a canvas and himself with black paint. He is crying, and the passion on his face suggests that perhaps Lorca was the only person he had ever loved.
In all the film was moving, and very well-made. Pattinson did a wonderful job playing Dali, and should get credit for taking on this daring role. It was the kind of movie that you watch and think, “Wow, that guy was really messed up.” Pattinson, of course, does not usually get recognized for his off-beat movies because mainstream America does not seem to approve. Sadly, Pattinson has to keep the charade of Twilight going just a little longer. Hopefully, once the series is over, he will get recognized for his true talent as an actor– not just his sparkly skin and his vampire status.
