Lust for Life opens with Van Gogh as a zealous evangelist, looking to follow in the footsteps of his pastor father. (“I’m talking about women, man, women!” he chortles.) There’s no doubt that Quinn is fun, and it’s interesting to watch the normally domineering Douglas wilt before him as the subservient Van Gogh. Then there is Anthony Quinn as Paul Gauguin, who has the lustiest lust for life. Minor characters are broadly drawn, while Van Gogh’s personal philosophy is repeatedly declared in speeches or voiceover readings of his letters. Of course, Van Gogh’s work also displayed subtlety, and Lust for Life -from Douglas’ performance on down-doesn’t have much time for that. Every gesture he makes is dramatic-and you could say the same of every brushstroke in something like Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. Unbridled energy certainly defines his impressionistic work, and that’s exactly the sort of energy Douglas exudes in the film. The painter led a tumultuous life of emotional extremes, suffering from what might today be diagnosed as manic depression. Kirk Douglas could be a little much, but that proves to be the right amount in Lust for Life, a melodramatic biographical drama about Vincent Van Gogh.
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