Real-life Ukrainian ballet dancer Oleg Ivenko plays Nureyev as a tempestuous, hard-to-like (albeit miraculously talented) egoist.
It doesnt help that Ivenko is…well, lets just say hes a much better dancer than actor.
It sometimes feels like shes sleepwalking through the film.
Credit: Larry Horricks/Sony Pictures Classics
His sensitivity in the role is so compelling, he makes the other performances only seem more lacking.
Still, Nureyevs story is so inherently dramatic that its not all a loss.
Yet, theres something about the movie that makes it all feel as though its being presented under glass.
Nureyev is more of an idea than an actual flesh and blood character.
The only timeThe White Crowtruly shoots off sparks is during its dance sequences.
But then the spell is broken, and the crow falls back to earth.B-
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