Monday, July 13, 2015

'Round Midnight

The last days of a drug addicted, alcoholic, world weary saxophonist (real life jazzman Dexter Gordon) are spent abroad in Paris where he lives on a tight leash held by his manager and receives alms and friendship from an adoring local (Francois Cluzet). Bernard Tavernier's 'Round Midnight is a simple story, beautifully and gloomily constructed, with amazing musical sequences, a powerful performance from Gordon, and an empathetic one from Cluzet.
*** 1/2 out of ****