Venus is a movie that killed its box office by having a poster that portrayed Peter O'Toole as a certifiable madman.

Maurice (O'Toole) is an elderly roguish actor with prostate cancer. He knows his end is near.

Maurice regularly meets up with fellow actor Ian (Leslie Phillips) where they verbally spar and reminisce about old times.

When Ian's niece's daughter Jessie (Jodie Whittaker) comes to stay as her carer. Maurice is fascinated with this young brassy northern lass.

Jessie eats Pot Noodles, drinks the booze and is stroppy and uncouth.

Ian is horrified by Jessie as a carer. She cannot even cook a good bit of fish. Maurice takes her out to restaurants, art galleries and imbues a bit of culture in her. Maurice even gets her a job as a nude artist's model.

In return Jessie lets him kiss her neck or feel her up, but not get too many liberties or he will get a sharp jab.

Venus is not a May to December romance. There is a 50 years age gap between the two. Maybe there is a fondness between the two and they both use each other for their own mutual benefits.

Maurice gets a quick feel and feels a little younger. She reminds him of the time when he was a ladies man, happy to walk out on his wife (Vanessa Redgrave) and children. Maurice buys Jessie some gifts and gives her a bit of excitement. A ride in a limousine as Maurice goes to a new acting job.

Jessie grows up a bit but Ian finds out that Maurice is a dirty old man who is corrupting her.

Venus was Peter O'Toole's last major film role and he received his final acting Oscar nomination. It is a rude, bittersweet but patchy film written by Hanif Kureishi.

The bit with Jessie's boyfriend was a misstep leading to a predictable outcome.

Maurice Russell (Peter O'Toole) is a respected actor in his twilight in London. His playboy days are over but he's still a bit of a dirty old man. His friend Ian is getting a girl to help out. Ian's niece is sending her daughter Jessie (Jodie Whittaker) from the country. She's messy and no help at all. She expects to be a model while eating nothing but junk food. Ian is frustrated and Maurice is entranced.

There is only one Peter O'Toole and he gives us one great final curtain call. He shows the world that he still has it. He is the only one who can play a dirty old man and do it with playfulness. It's also done with a bit of edge. It's fun. It's poignant. There is no other like him. He is joined by great screen veterans and newcomer Whittaker.

This is one of those movies that grows on you once the credits are done. Quickly paced, sharply written and deftly acted, Venus is a movie that unfolds so quickly that one is immersed in the action from the very start.

The background is actors living off small pensions and acting jobs in working class London. The cinematography catches the dullness of the surroundings and one is easily transported into this world of sameness, peppered by occasional wonderful lapses back into the magic of acting and well written lines. Their world, and also the girl's world is turned upside down by meeting one another.

O'Toole is wonderful as Maurice, the ex-raconteur who proves that love, lust, flirtation and marvel are attributes that never go away with age. It's a delight to see these feelings rekindled in the old man, and O'Toole is the master of bringing zest and poignancy to the screen. Just going to see him quote Shakespeare is worth it alone. The setting in which he does it is unexpected and moving.

Jodie Whitaker is indeed a fresh new face. Without airs, this actress expertly matches wits with O'Toole. She conveys the right amount of grittiness, insecurity and bravado as a teenage girl thrust into the big city without a concrete plan would. The growth in her character takes place when an event that she has caused takes place, and she must either own up to what she has done, or forever be stuck in the life as a yob's girlfriend.

Vanessa Redgrave and all the others round out an honest cast that isn't afraid to let "Hollywood" see their age. This is acting "sans botox," and what a delight it is to see. This is smart writing, good thinking, and gutsy in a day when actors are expected to look a certain way even in old age. It's a delight, and trounces all stereotypes about aging.

There are lines here which are utterly breathtaking in their insight and playfulness. The writer is to be applauded for not falling back on the "senior citizen" stereotype. O'Toole's character swoons, he drinks in the quixotic experience of remembering the beauty of a naked body, of kissing a woman's neck, of the entire and total experience of falling in love, of pleasure, and of jealousy and of heartbreak as well. Young screenwriters should take note: write against type and delve into the real human experience, the one that everyone else tries to conveniently box away.

Why an 8, and not a 10? There were some choppy bits of editing. I would have liked to see even more growth and recognition in Maurice. Just a bit more from the writers would've brought it all the way home with the same aplomb given by O'Toole. But overall, a movie worth seeing, a performance worth rewarding. Bravo! Well done. Applause for Mr. O'Toole.