Paul Jones is rock idol Steven Shorter in "Privilege," a 1967 film from Britain that also stars Jean Shrimpton. Shorter (Jones) has the minds and hearts of the British public with his Beatle-like appearance and music, so the people behind him use him to promote any agenda they have, be it pushing the consumption of apples, conformity, religion, you name it. He goes along with their current manipulation of the public until he meets a beautiful young artist (Shrimpton) who encourages him to delve deeper into his own feelings and desires.
The film has a great premise and lots of potential but for this viewer, it wasn't realized. It's very detached and meandering, and the acting is so "natural" as to be nonexistent. As Bette Davis once said, "Acting today is too natural. Real acting is larger than life." Well, what she was saying is that real acting has real energy - which the acting in "Privilege" lacks. There are some very good scenes, however, the ultimate being the outdoor rally which comes off as something from Hitler's Germany at the height of his political power. The rock versions of "Onward Christian Soldiers" and "Jerusalem" are great.
Jean Shrimpton at one time was a world-famous supermodel and a spectacular beauty. However, her lush hair, perfect bones, enormous luminous eyes and leggy stature could not help her - she would have easily flunked out of the Copacabana School of Acting. Paul Jones is actually a very good actor, and gets to show it in a couple of scenes, but he was directed to have that empty vessel syndrome - where you're such a blank that an audience can infuse anything they want into you. It's a good, true phenomenon - Greta Garbo was one such empty vessel - but it doesn't come off here.
For people who remember the British "mod" era, this will be of great interest.
The film has a great premise and lots of potential but for this viewer, it wasn't realized. It's very detached and meandering, and the acting is so "natural" as to be nonexistent. As Bette Davis once said, "Acting today is too natural. Real acting is larger than life." Well, what she was saying is that real acting has real energy - which the acting in "Privilege" lacks. There are some very good scenes, however, the ultimate being the outdoor rally which comes off as something from Hitler's Germany at the height of his political power. The rock versions of "Onward Christian Soldiers" and "Jerusalem" are great.
Jean Shrimpton at one time was a world-famous supermodel and a spectacular beauty. However, her lush hair, perfect bones, enormous luminous eyes and leggy stature could not help her - she would have easily flunked out of the Copacabana School of Acting. Paul Jones is actually a very good actor, and gets to show it in a couple of scenes, but he was directed to have that empty vessel syndrome - where you're such a blank that an audience can infuse anything they want into you. It's a good, true phenomenon - Greta Garbo was one such empty vessel - but it doesn't come off here.
For people who remember the British "mod" era, this will be of great interest.