Made for TV and no surprise

For a man who professes that the bond between teacher and pupil is a sacred trust, Anton Bosnyak (Peter O'Toole) clearly doesn't much listen to himself or he would have kept the amorous Zoe (Jodie Foster) at arm's length. But hey, he's just flesh and blood, somewhat obsessed with himself and Zoe is very easy on the eye. At that stage, the film ceases to have a real point since the Great Artist can't be trusted to keep his knobbly fingers to himself, I found myself wondering what else would be out of kilter.

Costume for one. Zoe's outfits were often chic and showed a taste (and budget) that was too advanced for her background and completely at odds with the dress sense of her contemporaries. But with a plethora of cooks spoiling the broth it becomes a futile exercise to find a solid foundation in this.

This rather disappointing film doesn't really go anywhere useful and the only memorable scene was Zoe singing "One Dream at a Time" with admirable courage if not deftness - she does have a lovely voice even though it is not well trained to sing. A cameo from Holly Hunter made me smile.

2/10