Copying Beethoven (2006)

Genius can be a lonely burden, and sometimes it takes a kindred spirit to help carry it. Agnieszka Holland's "Copying Beethoven" is a passionate, powerful drama loosely based on the final years of Ludwig van Beethoven's life. Set in Vienna in 1824, it finds the great composer a tormented man - nearly deaf, disappointed by his wayward nephew, Karl, and racing to finish the Ninth Symphony, the most revolutionary work of his career. He's also intrigued by Anna Holtz (Diane Kruger), a gifted young composer, and a fictional creation, who is hired to copy out his music. Living at a convent and engaged to a steady, practical engineer, Anna finds herself drawn to Beethoven's stormy genius. Half the time, he's enchanted by her and seems to see straight into her soul. The other half, he's berating her for being too timid or too flattering. But Anna is no pushover, and she fights back. The more she does, the more Beethoven recognizes a fellow survivor, someone with whom he can share his vulnerability and the weight of his gift. Ed Harris' Beethoven is racked by pain but never defeated by it; he seems like a man who understands his duty to his art too deeply to simply fall apart, and who believes God doesn't whisper to him, as he does to other men, but shouts. Holland ("Olivier, Olivier") crafts a handsome drama that is by turns tender and harsh, with several thrilling moments, including the awestruck faces of the audience at the world premiere of the glorious Ninth Symphony, as Anna helps guide the deaf maestro through the performance.