Gary Oldman may have had the chops to play Austrian composer Ludwig van
Beethoven – he's a proficient pianist and once told Charlie Rose that he'd
rather be a musician than actor – though the role only required him to vamp the
... more playing of the master. The film is based on the true story of a three-part
letter found in Beethoven's private papers upon his death, addressed to a
mysterious "immortal beloved. "
Though the conclusions reached in the film have been disputed by Beethoven
scholars – no one save writer/director Bernard Rose has claimed to know who the
woman was – Oldman's performance is unimpeachable. He dives deep into the role
with powerful passion and makes the audience feel the pain of the genius as he
loses his hearing and fails to shape his nephew into a similarly talented
musician. In the year of "Gump," Oldman was overlooked for a well-deserved Oscar
nomination.
