If only [director] Michell's film actually said something about aging, and didn't feel the need to include Grumpy Old Men shtick and bland bossa nova-inflected pop.

Venus belongs to O'Toole. This is, hands down, my favorite performance of the year, largely because I love the way O'Toole (and the filmmakers) refuse to yield to the all-too-pervasive idea that it's 'icky' for old people to even think about sex.

It comes as a pleasant shock, actually, to see newcomer Whittaker holding her actorly own against the icon O'Toole.

It has some tragicomic moments that work with an endearing performance by O'Toole to dialogue about aging, passion and death, but the narrative is a bit soft. [Full review in Spanish]