The Life and Death of Peter Sellers **** (2004, Geoffrey Rush, Charlize Theron, Emily Watson, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci) – Classic Movie Review 4987

Looking nothing like the actor, Geoffrey Rush triumphs over his apparent miscasting as actor and comedian Peter Sellers, in a tour-de-force turn that landed him the 2005 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television. Miraculously, Rush, though a year younger than Sellers when he died, plays the actor over the course of 30 years. What a clever and talented, quite brilliant actor Rush is!

Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely’s screenplay is a feature adaptation of Roger Lewis’ book about the actor.

The outstanding, meticulously crafted film is a film buff’s treasure trove, and it won the 2005 Golden Globe for Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television. There were also nine Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Writing (Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely), Outstanding Directing (Stephen Hopkins) and the all-important Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup (Geoffrey Rush’s prosthetics designed and applied by Wesley Wofford; prosthetic makeup artist and applied by Davy Jones) .

The warts and all portrait of the restless, sometimes difficult Pink Panther, Dr Strangelove and Being There actor is very compelling, engrossing, sympathetic and moving. Rush’s excellent co-stars Charlize Theron and Emily Watson were both nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, playing Britt Ekland and Anne Sellers.

Stephen Fry plays the British celebrity clairvoyant and astrologer Maurice Woodruff, who had some famous private clients including Sellers, who would defer to Woodruff’s consultations to help him make major decisions. John Lithgow plays Panther director Blake Edwards, who in real life later called Rush’s performance as the best he’d ever seen. Stanley Tucci plays Dr Strangelove and Lolita director, Stanley Kubrick.

Scenes with Emilia Fox playing Sellers’ fourth wife, Lynne Frederick were cut from the final print, and there is no direct mention of his third wife or fiancée Liza Minnelli.

Rob Brydon played Dustin Hoffman in a deleted scene at the 1980 Academy Awards when Sellers lost the Oscar for Best Actor in Being There to Hoffman. Peter Vaughan, who plays Sellers’s father, co-starred with the actor in The Blockhouse (1973).

It was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and Edinburgh International Film Festival, and released in UK cinemas on 1 October 2004, but its straight to TV premiere in the US on 5 December prevented it from Oscar consideration.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 4987

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