Preview: Film: Love is the devil (18)

Going out

John Maybury was refused permission to use Francis Bacon's paintings in Love is the Devil (above), his account of the artist's love affair with George Dyer (Daniel Craig). So instead of featuring actual examples of his work, the film itself is designed like a Bacon painting. And like the real thing, it's dark, disturbing and claustrophobic.

The artist is evoked just as vividly, in an inspired performance by Derek Jacobi. His Bacon is a sharp-tongued wit with a taste for S&M, who expresses his love for Dyer on canvas but treats the man himself callously. What emerges is a fascinating exploration of the relationship between an artist and his muse, whose style should appeal to broad-minded Bacon enthusiasts and avant-garde cinephiles alike.

On general release