Surviving Picasso

One of the 20th century’s most influential painters, Picasso was also notorious for destroying the lives of those who loved him. Of the five major loves in his life, only one was strong enough to withstand his mad brilliance and walk away intact. Francoise Gilot (Natascha McElhone) was 23 years old when Picasso saw her in a bistro and invited her home. They become lovers and have a 10-year affair that produces his children Claude and Paloma. During their relationship Picasso (Anthony Hopkins) proved himself a brilliant artist and an appalling human being. Narcissistic, self-centered, cruel and sadistically manipulative, he treated his paint brushes better than he did his women, most of whom emerged from his grasp broken husks of their former selves. The screen play by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is adapted from the biography by Ariana Stassinopoulos Huffington. Cast includes Julianne Moore, Joss Ackland, Peter Eyre, Jane Lapotaire, Bob Peck, Diane Venora and Joan Plowright.