"There's a mildly amusing on-paper joke at the centre of manic art world comedy The Gallerist: what if someone was accidentally impaled on an exhibit but rather than report it, the corpse became part of the artwork? Sure, poking fun at the absurdity of modern art might seem a little dated and definitely a little too easy but maybe with a packed cast including Oscar winners Natalie Portman, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, there could be a fun, fast-paced caper here?"
"But it's a major stumble, limply aiming at low-hanging fruit (isn't the art world kinda dopey?) and wasting a cast who could and should be having more fun. I'm always a fan of Portman's big swings, more recently nestled next to her thankless Marvel work, but she can't seem to find her footing here, playing ambitious and morally disintegrating gallerist Polina, styled like a cross between Miranda Priestly and Andy Warhol."
The Gallerist is a star-studded dark comedy centered on ambitious gallerist Polina, who seeks critical acclaim with a provocative exhibition during Art Basel Miami. The plot premise involves an accidental impalement that is treated as part of the artwork, an on-paper joke that the film cannot sustain. Direction by Cathy Yan leans on pop stylistics but the film aims at easy targets and low-hanging art-world satire. Strong cast members, including Natalie Portman and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, are underused, and the tone lands as grating rather than clever, leaving the comedy and satire ineffective.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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