Rent Ivans xtc. (2000)

Best film of the noughties. - Ivans xtc. review by Steve

Based on Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, transposed to decadent Hollywood... Danny Huston stars as Ivan Beckman, a hot talent agent surfing a west coast inferno of cocaine, gratis call girls, and the trash and autocrats of tinseltown.

The film starts at the end. At Ivan's funeral, where the assumption is that Beckman has 'freebased his face off'. And then we witness Ivan's descent through a very real Hollywood hell, to his death from cancer, in the arms of a hospice nurse.

British director Rose, became poison for this vivid exposé of the LA film industry, so closely was his film thought to imitate reality. Huston's portrayal is as great as any you'll see. His denial, his absolute fear of his mortality, playing out behind his shit-eating grin; his inability to confront any situation without trying to manage or spin it. Even his own death. Yet, he earns our pity.

This is a profoundly moral film that invites us to identify with Ivan and judge ourselves against a better life that may be lived, and to remind us that time is running out. Very few film have burned me as deeply as this.

The final scene - Ivans xtc. review by CW

I am giving this 5 stars because of the last scene. Watching the movie I was tempted to stop because I just wasn’t interested in the totally self centred people . I kept going though because the main character Ivan, played by Danny Huston, is such a sweet loveable guy. Ivan has a smile that lights up the room. There are glimpses of him at parties, surrounded by people, when you see sadness in his eyes. If anyone looks at him he breaks into a smile. His best friend seems to be an old golden retriever. (I did wonder when does that poor dog ever get taken out?). 

Spoiler: Then the final scene. Ivan’s world is imploding.  He is in intensive care, dying in hospital. The soaring music is from Tristan and Isolde. Ian is tethered to the bed with tubes. Machines blinking to either side of him. A nurse enters his room. She does not know him but with profound empathy she tenderly wipes his face as his wild eyes bore into her. He reaches to her shoulder. Instead of shrugging him off, she puts her hand on his. She holds his other hand. She puts her forehead on his. She offers him dignity. This compassion, human touch is what he so craved. As she leaves, in slow motion, she touches his foot. I watched this while we are in lockdown with the plague like virus. Doctors, nurses and staff in hospitals are covered in protective gear. They are unable to offer this human touch. People are dying without being held. This last scene is done so incredibly well I was literally gasping. As soon as it was over, I reversed and watched that scene again. The directing is truly marvellous. 

Danny Huston  is as good as it gets. I want to see every movie he is in.