Screened as part of NZIFF 2004

De-Lovely 2004

Directed by Irwin Winkler

USA In English
125 minutes 35mm

Director

Screenplay

Jay Cocks

Photography

Tony Pierce-Roberts

Music

Cole Porter

With

Kevin Kline
,
Ashley Judd
,
Jonathan Pryce
,
Angie Hill

Musical performers

Robbie Williams
,
Alanis Morissette
,
Sheryl Crow
,
Mick Hucknall
,
Diana Krall
,
Vivian Green
,
Natalie Cole

Festivals

Cannes (Closing Night) 2004

Elsewhere

‘The night is young, the skies are clear/And if you want to go walkin’, dear/It’s delightful, it’s delicious, it’s de-lovely.’ If you don’t want these lyrics to lodge in your head for the rest of the winter, delete this film from your list. A swish Hollywood musical biography, in the literal, pre-Cabaret style, De-Lovely depicts the life of Broadway songwriting genius Cole Porter from the time of his early successes through to his death in 1964. Facing up to Porter’s homosexuality, but focused squarely on his marriage to wealthy divorcée Linda Lee [Porter] as the one sustaining relationship in his life and work, it’s a parade of fabulous clothes, Deco mansions, decadent parties, Hollywood pools and Broadway openings, with intriguing excursions into shadier groves. The soundtrack is a catalogue of some of the most romantic songs ever written. Natalie Cole, Alanis Morissette, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, Sheryl Crow and Robbie Williams materialise in 30s nightclubs and prove that those long, catchily syncopated lines with their witty double entendres and sassy zingers will live forever at the height of style.