THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY (2019) review // Movies & Makeup #4

Hey!

I wanted to chat about a movie I’ve been meaning to watch for a long time, and it was so aesthetically pleasing that I had to review it! Today we’re looking at The Burnt Orange Heresy (2019). It stars Claes Bang as James, an ambitious art thief, and Elizabeth Debicki as Berenice, James’ lover that discovers his true nature.

IMPORTANT! This review contains a rendition of the plot and lots of spoilers. There are mentions of murder and assault, so read this post at your own risk.

The Burnt Orange Heresy

Crime, Thriller // 2019 // 1 h 38 min

The Burnt Orange Heresy was directed by Giuseppe Capotondi and produced by William Horberg, David Lancaster and David Zander. Based on a novel The Burnt Orange Heresy
by Charles Willeford, the movie follows a man named James (played by Claes Bang) who’s enlisted by a rich art dealer to steal a painting from a reclusive artist.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/

via Sony Pictures Classics on YouTube

Plot description: SPOILERS AHEAD! 

An art critic named James reads a lecture on art; afterwards, he meets Berenice and they get in a relationship. James work requires him to travel to a wealthy art dealer Joseph’s mansion in Italy.

There, James and Berenice learn about a reclusive painter, Jerome Debney, who lives on Joseph’s property.
During a private conversation, Joseph informs James that he has to steal one of Debney’s paintings as they are incredibly valuable. Soon enough, James and Berenice meet Debney; while he and Berenice go on a boat trip, James unsuccessfully attempts to break into Debney’s studio.

Eventually, Debney invites them to his house and studio, where he introduces them to his art and tells them about a painting, the “Burnt Orange Heresy”. Walking home, James tells Berenice he forgot something at the painter’s house. Upon return, he breaks into the painter’s studio, steals a blank canvas, oil paint and some documents, and sets the place on fire.

That same night, James and Berenice return home. As she sleeps, James forges a Debney painting using the stolen supplies. Joseph calls and informs of the fire at the studio, which means that the last Debney’s painting is incredibly valuable; little does he know, James didn’t steal any paintings but instead will create a fake.

Unfortunately, Berenice wakes up and sees what’s happening. She confronts James and he murders her. James gets rid of her body in a way mafia members would be proud of and continues on with his life.

James writes a book about Debney, and during the book event, Joseph implies he suspects James in Berenice’s disappearance. Also, some lady tells James about the fingerprint on the painting. James realizes Berenice left her fingerprint on the “Burnt Orange Heresy”, which could ruin his life if it was proven to belong to Berenice. The movie ends with a shot of Debney’s painting of Berenice; if found, the “Burnt Orange Heresy” loses its value, and the suspicions of Berenice’s disappearance fall on James.

End of description.

I loved the ongoing theme of sin signified by the flies and the foreshadowing of certain events.

At the start, there’s a story about flies in paintings and how they signify the sins of the people they’re sitting on. (In the movie, James is plagued by them.) I also noticed how Berenice’s fate gets foreshadowed during the movie. Most dialogues with and about her include her pondering if she’s gonna live a long life or someone saying they wish her a long life. In one instance, Debney warns her against Jame’s ambitiousness and tells her that she should be wary of him.

You must watch this movie attentively or you’ll need to watch it a second time to catch all the details featured in it.

It’s beautifully shot, and the set design and scenery are both gorgeous. The dialogues are important if you wanna understand the Easter eggs hidden in the movie. I don’t have the best attention span, and I rarely watch dramas, but I liked this movie so much I’d rate it a 7 or 8 out of 10!

Would I recommend watching The Burnt Orange Heresy?

Yes and no. Yes, if you like the cast, most notably Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, Mick Jagger and Donald Sutherland. And aesthetic movies featuring Italy that feel like a cup of hot coffee on a lazy Sunday morning. I wouldn’t recommend it to people who like action or those who aren’t interested in art. Though I have to say, I liked it more the second time I watched it!

burnt orange heresy makeup look

I love red and yellow eyeshadows, but I don’t have many orange shades; isn’t that peculiar? Today’s look is simple and wearable, but the black graphic liner brings it up a notch and makes it all artsy-fartsy. 🙂

Products used:

• Revolution Ultra Cover & Conceal palette in Light-Medium (for eye base)
• Revolution Reloaded Newtrals 2 palette
• NYX Off Tropic 02 Shifting Sand palette
• Wycon Ink Liner
• Rival Loves Me Volume Wonder mascara in Black

♥ eyeshadow lewk ♥

1. Today I filled in my brows with dark brown eyeshadow and brushed out as much of the powder as possible. After that, I cleaned up the skin around the brows using a skin-toned concealer. (Do your brows however you prefer! 🙂 )

2. Prime the lids with concealer, then set the concealer beneath the brows with a skin-toned eyeshadow.

3. I used a saturated burnt orange shade from the Revolution palette and blended it in my crease. I placed most of the colour in the inner parts of the upper eyelids and blended the upper part of the eyeshadow with a light caramel eyeshadow to make the orange less red and more burnt-looking.

4. I patted the matte orange from the NYX palette all over the moving lid. After that, I applied the bright orange shimmer on the inner parts of the eyelid. I deepened the crease with the cool-toned dark brown and blended all eyelid shades together to have no visible lines left. (By the way, I did all of this using a dense, fluffy blending brush.)

5. I used whatever product was left on the dense blending brush to colour my lower lid, then applied concealer and did my winged liner and graphic liner bits. (If you wish, you can choose to omit graphic eyeliner.)

6. Last, but not least, I applied a coat of mascara to both top and bottom lashes but didn’t use any falsies. You can use them if you like, but I liked this look the way it is. I also applied a bit of red lipgloss on the inner parts of the eye. You don’t have to do that either – I just wanted to play around!

#QOTD: Have you seen The Burnt Orange Heresy? If so, what did you think about it? Leave a comment, let’s have a chat!

Until later,

xoCaligo

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