Seneca: On the Creation of Earthquakes (2023) – 3/5

Maybe didn’t rock my world, but still entertaining enough overall

„Seneca – On the Creation of Earthquakes“ or just „Seneca“ (even the poster says so) as it is all about the character at the center of the story and never really too much about anybody else or if it is, then we really only find out about them during their interactions with Seneca, is a new German English-language movie. Yes, this is true that here we do not have an American film, even if it is in English, but German makes sense if you look at the cast and also the man who made the film. I did not know the German impact here would be so strong when I went to go and see this film, so I ended up a bit surprised for sure seeing actors here that I did not expect, even if the one I initially thought was Herbert Knaup was somebody else then. The resemblance is still there without a doubt. I was actually not sure if I should go see this film, but I was at the movie theater anyway to see another film and it fit well time-wise to turn it into a double feature. Besides, I really like John Malkovich and with most others in the lead instead of him, I probably would have skipped the watch indeed. But eventually I don’t regret going. This was also perhaps the last time the film got shown and some others may have had the same approach. The room was more packed than I expected. There were almost no free seats at all anymore. So who knows, maybe they will still show it a few more times, at least on the weekend(s). But yeah, the director and also one of the two writers here is Robert Schwentke. He was born in the south of Germany and I cannot even say that his turn here was his transition to America or working with American actors because honestly all this happened almost 20 years ago already. He is now in his mid50s, which means that he was young back then also did not work on too many German films before that. Good for him, especially because I like this film too, even if many others did not like it really too much. I cannot say too much about co-writer Matthew Wilder. He has not been too prolific, but I see he worked on a film with Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe a few years ago. Two very talented actors, especially the latter, so good for him I suppose.

The German actors here include Louis Hofmann, Wolfram Koch, Lilith Stangenberg, Samuel Finzi, Alexander Fehling, so some pretty solid names for sure. Most of them have their time to shine then towards the end rather as the earlier phases of the film are more about Seneca’s relationship with the rising Roman emperor Nero. I would not say that these scenes really were so good that they had me on the edge of my seat, but Nero’s ruthlessness and brutality were still somewhat entertaining, how he dealt with the women in his life was something we found out in detail about here and this includes his wife and mother too. No mercy for them. He disposes of them in the most sociopath fashion. With his mother, he is also not scared to do the act himself. Especially in her state there. And he is of course also the one to have Seneca killed then. Maybe he was just sick of Seneca’s wisdom and philosophical ideas and being perceived as inferior. Or there was the possibility that he saw himself as inferior indeed or he just disliked Seneca seeing himself as superior. It’s not too important anyway. Fact is Seneca needed to die. Early on in this movie you could still think of Seneca as somebody more likable than he does turn out then eventually. The way how he dealt with Nero in these first scenes, really spit some wisdom there and is also admired and liked by the young man resulted in this and also there is the scene in which Seneca at least tried to save Nero’s wife from getting killed. I mean he could not do much because of Nero’s power, but he tried what he could by using his language. Without success. Actually, he ends up a bit in the line of fire (no pun intended) there too right away, but lives on thanks to Nero’s mercy. It wouldn’t stay that way. A really brutal Roman soldier, who won’t accept weakness and sees it as not worth living, catches Nero’s eye and he picks this man to take care of Seneca, if necessary to commit the act himself.

But yeah, I was talking about Seneca and you can surely say that he does not stay as likable when the film continues. The scene in which he shows his vision to his fans(?) or the visitors of the events and sacrifices two boys in the process was quite something. You could always wonder if there is some revelation soon that the play just really used special effects or a magic trick and the boys are indeed alive, but nope they weren’t. We even see one of their heads and it is not the only thing we see from them in fact. I mean look at the intestines. If you had any sympathy for Seneca at that point, it should really be gone. Maybe he turned more into Nero in the process of the two spending time together instead of the other way around. Gee, I still keep thinking somehow of Seneca as a Brazilian. I shouldn’t. This is what old football video games do with you when you play them too often I suppose. But back to the movie and away from the random rambling: The actor who plays Nero here was fine, definitely an opportunity for him to play next to Malkovich as he has not been in many prestigious projects so far. I am curious where his career is heading. My fellow Germans in here did alright too. The one exception is Hofmann again. I have seen him in quite a few films and to be honest I think he is almost always pretty bad. Here he was just there with a worried face expression for the most part until it is almost only him and Seneca then, but he is not good either. On the contrary, he has one moment there that is really cringe and when he leaves the scene, things are not really looking any better. Hofmann is so void of subtlety and painful to watch when he is over the top. I have no idea why he is getting cast. There was not one single film from him out of the ones I have seen where he gave a solid performance. I don’t even expect great. Sigh. If we look at the (more) positive aspects here, I was especially impressed by Finzi’s English. I don’t think he was dubbed by somebody else, but if he was, then I take it back. Anyway, he is also an actor that I have not always been kind on, but here he did okay with what he was given, which wasn’t a lot either.

Eventually, it is really about nobody other than Malkovich and his character. Which is fine too. He made this watchable, elevated the material at times. Would be so cool if he wins an Oscar one day, but I kinda doubt it. He turns 70 later this year. Also, I feel like he is more appreciated in Europe nowadays than in America. Maybe his physical looks are just too unique and people are worried to cast him in America because audiences will rather see Malkovich and not the character? I don’t know. No further sense in speculating either. Fact is he has to show up at events with Veronica Ferres‘ daughter because he appeared in films with her and this is really not how it should be given his great talents. He is so much more than this. But at least this film here is all about him then. In the second half, Nero, despite him being such an utterly baity character too, is pretty much out of the picture and if we see somebody linked to him, then this would be the guy he sent to kill Seneca. Or have him killed. Still, in the end, we find out about what happened with Nero after Seneca’s death. That he had his own demise there and left this world the moment he wanted to. Suicide was definitely perceived as a much bigger honor back then compared to being killed by somebody else. Like Seneca literally begs the killer to not murder him yet and give him some more time until the morning. It was honestly almost comical how these cuts there did not kill Seneca, even the really deep ones. What did he say about what was going through his veins? At the same time, the poor girl (played by Stangenberg, who was as stunning as some other women in this film) was bleeding out there next to him being even more confused now than when she agreed to kill himself with him. This idea of course also makes sure that Seneca is not a likable dude at all. He was all about his reputation and wanted to be remembered in a way that even in death a beautiful young maid follows him. Or maybe even have her come with him in the afterlife. Whatever they were thinking back then happens after death I suppose.

But yeah, before I get to the end of my review, I must also mention Geraldine Chaplin. Her body of work makes clear that she must have gotten at least one baity scene in here to agree to star in this film and again the non-American component comes through with her playing the part you can say. She is around the age of 80 now. This scene was of course the argument she has with Seneca before she leaves, which was maybe less memorable though compared to the one he has with the other two the scene before, or especially with the man. They all go away from him eventually and no matter how much he praises them (probably also not wholeheartedly), you realize that they are not (his) friends. In the end, he is all alone and then his corpse is taken away by the cruel soldier. So yeah, there is not really a happy ending, but that was not possible anyway. No way for Seneca to stay alive, but after what he did, it is perhaps for the best and even if it may sound a bit harsh, maybe it is best this way. It is not like he wasn’t old already for example either. And he is definitely not the hero and icon he seemed to be at the beginning. Narcissism was something you would also not only find in his emperor I guess. That is all then. I give „Seneca“ a thumbs-up, but it would be enough to watch this film on the small screen too. The beauty of the ancient Rome is also not too much of a factor here, the architecture etc. It is never about anything other than the people that are part of this picture and how almost everybody is rotten to the core. Just in different ways.