Robert Pattinson shows acting chops as Salvador Dali in 'Little Ashes'

They gave the movie a B, BTW I still need to post my review, I'm going to the movie again tommorow so I might do two reviews

Paul Morrison's movie is a speculative portrait of three artists: Dali, poet Federico Garcia Lorca (Javier Beltran) and filmmaker Luis Bunuel (Matthew McNulty), students in 1922 at a Madrid academy of fine arts. Their avocations defy the day's politics, a wave of fascism suffocating idealistic expression and homoerotic urges that Dali and Lorca share. Being an artist is revolutionary. Being a gay or bisexual artist is dangerous.

Pattinson is an attention grabber from his first appearance as a foppish lad, socially awkward and undeniably talented, proffering a bold style of surrealism on canvas. Gradually he gains confidence, brashly manifested in odd clothing and bold pronouncements of self-greatness. Later, as Dali begins a descent into madness, Pattinson's performance takes on a buffoonish air; he doesn't wear Dali's trademark upturned mustache, it wears him.

But in between, Pattinson's perverse charisma can make viewers forget that Little Ashes is actually more about Lorca. Beltran's accent is occasionally impenetrable yet his grip on the poet's sexually conflicted personality is firm. When Dali and Bunuel go to Paris to create avant-garde cinema, Lorca shelves desire and becomes a lyrical dissident. When Dali returns, it is with surprises sending Lorca into a bitter, tragic spiral.

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