O'Toole ain't dead yet

So Forest Whitaker won his Oscar despite my hopes that Leonardo DiCaprio might've taken home the statue for a film he wasn't nominated for. Yet after watching "Venus" late Saturday night, I reached the conclusion that if anyone deserved Best Actor, without a doubt it should've been Peter O'Toole.\nO'Toole stars as the ghostly Maurice, a very autobiographical turn as an actor in his olden years who's become typecast into playing corpses. When not on set he enjoys a pint with his acting buddies Ian and Donald (Leslie Phillips and Richard Griffiths respectively), that is until Ian's grandniece, Jessie (newcomer Jodie Whittaker), comes to take care of Ian. Maurice becomes enthralled with Jessie, despite a 60-year age difference and goes out of his way to crack her tough exterior in hopes of making a new friend -- and possibly something more.\nWhile it first appears as a Lolita complex, the angle of O'Toole just being a lecherous old man is quickly thrown out the window in a matter of minutes. He is genuinely interested in Whittaker and it shows in every scene. What is more important though are all the people whom O'Toole loves in life. Every scene between O'Toole, Phillips and Griffiths is warm, brimming with wit as we watch three old men enjoy each other's company as they curse up a storm and throw back drink after drink. When with his ex-wife Valerie (Vanessa Redgrave in a small yet poignant role), they are still so much in love with each other you never really understand why the split in the first place, nor are we ever actually told why. \nJodie Whittaker is wonderful in a role that asks her to make the transformation from bratty, young twentysomething to mature woman. O'Toole wines and dines her, and in return she grants him the smallest bit of affection, whether it's smelling her neck, holding her hand or the occasional glance up her skirt. Let it be known though that these scenes are handled with such care and grace that they never come off as creepy or disturbing. \n"Venus" goes to show that, despite his age, Peter O'Toole was right when he declined his honorary Oscar because he isn't in the ground yet. While he seemed distant in an interview I saw of him on "The Daily Show," on set O'Toole is very much alive, acting with the same passion he had in his first leading role in "Lawrence of Arabia." O'Toole is still in the acting game and "Venus" proves that without question.