Passion is not one of those words usually associated with the controversial author Ayn Rand, unless one is speaking of her controversial ideas. Her novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged made egoism a virtue, and her philosophy of objectivism, which she defiantly trumpeted in the face of criticism, proclaimed self-interest was a patriotic virtue. For 15 years she also used her philosophy to justify an affair with her "intellectual heir" (as she proclaimed him) Nathaniel Branden. This made-for-cable drama, based on the memoir by Barbara Branden (Nathaniel's wife), hones in on this clash between her ideas and her emotions. Helen Mirren is sharp and intense as the demanding, often icy Rand, playing down her striking features to become severe and plain. Eric Stoltz brings an insidious mix of charm and calculation to Nathaniel, a sycophantic devotee who espouses the gospel of intellectual honesty while compromising himself at every turn. Peter Fonda and Julie Delpy are the wounded spouses who endure their open affair. It's an unusually handsome film for a cable production, and the cool jazz score beautifully sets both the era and the mood of the film. Director Christopher Menaul, who previously directed Mirren in the brilliant British miniseries Prime Suspect, is fascinated by the hypocrisies justified by love and jealousy. While he's critical of Rand's philosophy and the cultlike following it spawns, he is nonetheless respectful of her intellect and devotion to her ideas, contradictions and all. --Sean Axmaker
(15 votes)
2.
Ayn Rand, author of THE FOUNTAINHEAD and founder of the philosophical sect known as Objectivism, may have been a genius, but her personal life played out like a plot from a pulp romance novel. This film is the story of Rand's affair with a man 25 years her junior, Nathaniel Branden (Stoltz), a young philosophy student whom she met during a dinner at her home along with his girlfriend, Barbara. Though Mrs. Rand was still in love with her husband (Fonda) she was so attracted to Mr. Branden, who greatly resembled the heroes of her novels, that she convinced her husband, Barbara, and Nathaniel that she must have an affair with him. A story about a very strange love triangle, THE PASSION OF AYN RAND is based on a book by Nathaniel's girlfriend, Barbara, and it illuminates the massive ego and charisma of one of the most influential females of the twentieth century.
A celebrity, a novelist, a philosopher, an inspiration. In 1949, everyone's eyes were on novelist Ayn Rand and her philosophy. This philosophy was never more evident than in her bizarre love life.
Rand is excited and attracted to her brilliant, young and handsome new protégé. Believing that she can control people's hearts as well as their minds, she convinces her husband and the wife of her protégé to allow them to have a long term affair while staying married. This shocking arrangement lasts for fifteen years while the lovers triumph and the spouses suffer until, as fate would have it, her protégé's interest begins to turn to a young student of his own.
Based on the best-selling biography about the acclaimed author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, comes an incredible true story of desire and deception starring Helen Mirren (Some Mother's Son), Eric Stoltz (Pulp Fiction), Julie Delpy (Before Sunrise) and Peter Fonda (Ulee's Gold).
(15 votes)
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
<>
Movie Database
In Theaters
