Agnieszka Holland's biographical Total Eclipse is a greatly flawed film about the unlikable Paul Verlaine (David Thewlis) and Arthur Rimbaud (Leonardo DiCaprio) that remains compelling and provocative.

In 1871, established poet Verlaine invites 16-year old Rimbaud to Paris after reading a sampling of his remarkable verse. Rimbaud arrives at the household, immediately demonstrating his disdain for social niceties - declaring that he needs to piss, belching at the dinner table, and destroying family property.

Verlaine finds a hole in the wall apartment for his young charge, and soon after he abandons his pregnant wife to travel and live with Rimbaud throughout France and Belgium. The lovers lead a complicated Bohemian lifestyle - Verlaine financially supports Rimbaud, who serves as inspiration for the drained older poet. It's a heaven-and-hell situation, alternating between passionate love and heated quarrels. During one of many absinthe-laced drinking sessions, Rimbaud plunges a knife into Verlaine's palm, coldly declaring that, "The only unbearable thing is that nothing is unbearable."

Christopher Hampton's script remains essentially faithful to basic known history, although it unfolds unevenly and hops around too frequently. One puzzling jump cut shifts from a joint travel planning session to a scene where Rimbaud is back at his country home for a spell with no explanation offered. The most well-known historical incident between Rimbaud and Verlaine occurs when the older poet shoots his young lover in the hand, leading to a court ordered medical exam of anuses that uncovers “the signs of active and passive pederastic habits.” Sentenced for two years in prison, the real-life Verlaine converts to Catholicism, which the screenplay refers to - but not with the depth and definiteness that this aspect actually plays in real life.

Snippets of Rimbaud's poetry are read, but more references would better get inside the poet-genius' mind. As it stands, the script only superficially glimpses Rimbaud's contempt for humanity as a whole, his loneliness, and longing for human connection. Close ups capture these mood swings well when both DiCaprio and Thewlis appear together. But too often the camera pulls back, and scenes degenerate into shameless overacted sideshows - drunken reveries; these are to be expected, given the history, but barking dog shows are just one instance of joyless over-the-top acting.

Holland's film keeps its distance from the characters, as if it’s already decided that the audience can't possibly relate to the obnoxious, homosexual lovers/poets. The film parallels Verlaine's poetry - decent and interesting, but certainly not among the better biopics about creative artists - a decidedly mediocre work.

Related Reading
Prick Up Your Ears