Ivans XTC. (2000)

75% of critics liked it
(28 reviews)
70% of users liked it
(764 ratings)

Bernard Rose directed this look at the sordid underside of the film business and one man's attempts to come to terms with his mortality in this fallen world, in a story loosely based on Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Ivan Beckman (Danny Huston), a hot-shot talent agent at the powerful Media… More Bernard Rose directed this look at the sordid underside of the film business and one man's attempts to come to terms with his mortality in this fallen world, in a story loosely based on Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Ivan Beckman (Danny Huston), a hot-shot talent agent at the powerful Media Talent Agency, unexpectedly dies, and soon his colleagues are scrambling among themselves over the shards of Ivan's leftover business, with Barry Oaks (Adam Krentzman) eager to take over representation of Don West (Peter Weller), a major star Ivan signed shortly before his death. Everyone assumes that Ivan died of a drug overdose, but as viewers watch his last few days in flashback, they learn that Ivan was diagnosed with a severe case of lung cancer as he was trying to put together a deal with firebrand director Danny McTeague (James Merendino), actress Constanza Vero (Valeria Golino), and West. As the dynamic businessman is forced to confront his mortality, he is dragged into a binge of booze, drugs, and women with West, while he also tries to decide how to confront his family and his girlfriend Charlotte (Lisa Enos) with the grim news about his health. Ivansxtc. (To Live and Die in Hollywood) was shot using digital video equipment and a skeleton crew -- according to Rose, a reaction in part to studio interference over his 1997 adaptation of another Tolstoy work, Anna Karenina. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Bernard Rose
Written By: Bernard Rose, Leo Tolstoy
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Jun 7, 2002 Wide
Studio: Artistic License

Critic Reviews

Tom Sime, Dallas Morning News
A triumph, relentless and beautiful in its downbeat darkness.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
A committed, intelligent and fascinating piece of work with no irony about it.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
A remarkable film by Bernard Rose.
John Petrakis, Chicago Tribune
I have no way of knowing exactly how much is exaggeration, but I've got a creepy feeling that the film is closer to the mark than I want to believe.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
It's tough to watch, but it's a fantastic movie.
Megan Turner, New York Post
Behind the glitz, Hollywood is sordid and disgusting. Quelle surprise!
Ian Waldron-Mantgani, UK Critic
The fascination comes in the power of the Huston performance, which seems so larger than life and yet so fragile, and in the way the Ivan character accepts the news of his illness so quickly but still finds himself unable to react.
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, TheMovieChicks.com
It's hard to say who might enjoy this, are there Tolstoy groupies out there? It's dark and tragic, and lets the business of the greedy talent agents get in the way of saying something meaningful about facing death
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
It gets onto the screen just about as much of the novella as one could reasonably expect, and is engrossing and moving in its own right.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Huston nails both the glad-handing and the choking sense of hollow despair.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, San Francisco Examiner
Captivates as it shows excess in business and pleasure, allowing us to find the small, human moments, and leaving off with a grand whimper.
Rob Blackwelder, SPLICEDWire
(Danny Huston gives) an astounding performance that deftly, gradually reveals a real human soul buried beneath a spellbinding serpent's smirk.
Steve Rhodes, Internet Reviews
A directorial tour de force by Bernard Rose, ivans xtc. is one of this year's very best pictures.
Kim Newman, Sight and Sound
A substantial and affecting piece of work.
Neil Smith, BBC
A powerful, chilling, and affecting study of one man's dying fall.