British Film Institute - London Film Festival

Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

Victory (1995)

Director: Mark Peploe

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Watching Peploe's Conrad adaptation spurs on a bit of a guessing game: what's so terrible about it that it was consigned to three years on the shelf? It's the saga of Axel Heyst, a reclusive American living in the ruins of his failed mining operation in the Dutch East Indies. Dafoe looks characteristically careworn as the man with a past - did he sell out his best friend to amass his fortune? - who rescues Alma (Jacob) from a life of virtual prostitution. It seems like a new start for both of them, but soon the couple must face up to the arrival of malevolent con-men Neill and Sewell, drawn to Heyst's island refuge by the rumours of treasure. The film has a lot going for it: South Sea locations, a persuasive period feel, a lush orchestral score that is among the decade's best, and neatly turned performances. Disappointingly, though, the central drama is the film's weakest point. Dafoe and Jacob seem drawn together by the vagaries of international casting rather than by any dynamic between their characters, and motivations get cloudier the more we learn about the pair of them. Since grandiose Conradian themes of honour, choice and redemption hang so heavy over the proceedings, events on screen can't help but seem overwhelmed by the ideas behind them.

Author: TJ

Time Out Film Guide


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

A Bond a day: No. 11 'Moonraker'

A Bond a day: No. 11 'Moonraker'

Time Out revisits the 21 Bond movies day by day to celebrate the release of 'Quantum of Solace'

The essential guide to the London Film Festival

The essential guide to the London Film Festival

Get the inside track on the all the films and events you'll want to catch at the Times BFI 52nd London Film Festival

Terence Davies: interview

Terence Davies: interview

Wally Hammond talks to visionary British director Terence Davies about his deeply personal and long-awaited new documentary ‘Of Time and the City’

W.

W.

Read our early review of Oliver Stone's George W Bush biopic, 'W.', playing at this year's London Film Festival

Ten friendly ghost movies

Ten friendly ghost movies

To celebrate the release of 'Ghost Town' in which Ricky Gervais plays a New York dentist who can see dead people, Time Out counts down ten great friendly ghost movies.