Renowned for Nixon and Ali, screenwriters Stephen J. Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson obviously revel in biography. But this account of Beethoven’s relationship with Anna Holtz, the amanuensis who became his final muse, all-too-quickly mires itself in Masterpiece Theatre verbosity as it tries to graft a beauty and the beast scenario on to a treatise on artistic creation.
The picture briefly bursts into life during the audacious Ninth Symphony premiere, but Ed Harris’ bombastic mugging and Diane Kruger’s starstruck simpering deprive this worthy drama of depth and soul.