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Poster for Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon

Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon

1998 · 92 min

A claustrophobic, impressionistic descent into a volatile relationship, blending art and self-destruction with unflinching intimacy.

Directed by
John Maybury
Genres
Drama
Starring
Derek Jacobi, Daniel Craig, Tilda Swinton
Tagline
There's no beauty without the wound
Overview
In the 1960s, British painter Francis Bacon surprises a burglar and invites him to share his bed. The burglar, a working class man named George Dyer, accepts. After the unique beginning to their love affair, the well-connected and volatile artist assimilates Dyer into his circle of eccentric friends, as Dyer's struggle with addiction strains their bond.

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Stream in the UK
  • BFI Player
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
John Maybury
Genres
Drama
Starring
Derek Jacobi, Daniel Craig, Tilda Swinton
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 3 of 3
  • bleakstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • obsession
  • addiction
  • love
  • art
  • betrayal
Places
  • big city
  • home
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language strong
  • Violence mild
  • Sex strong
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror2
Humour2
Realism8
Romance4
Tension6
Darkness8
Complexity7
Emotional weight8

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • BFI Player
Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama
Directed by
John Maybury
Written by
John Maybury
Starring
Derek Jacobi, Daniel Craig, Tilda Swinton, Anne Lambton, Adrian Scarborough, Karl Johnson, Annabel Brooks, Ulla Larson-Styles
Music
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Cinematography
John Mathieson
Runtime
92 min
Country
United Kingdom, France, Japan
Languages
French, English

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