Bernard Rose's superior film about the life of Ludwig van Beethoven takes as its central premise a mention in the composer's will of an 'immortal beloved', identity unknown. So far, so intriguing.

With the casting of versatile British actor Gary Oldman as Beethoven, there was potential for a lot of depth of character (which we get, as the passage of time convinces throughout as Beethoven moves from skirt-chasing youth to crabby and deaf old age).

Also impressive within the cast are Jeroen Krabbé as Schindler, Johanna ter Steege as Johanna Reiss, and Isabella Rossellini as Anna Marie Erdody. What could have been a stodgy film is buoyed up greatly by their presence, but it is the central performance of Oldman which counts (he really is a peerless performer of real-life characters - Sid Vicious, Joe Orton, Lee Harvey Oswald ...).

My only gripe would be that the music is sometimes given short shrift, but when it is there, it is wonderful. You get the emotional impact in the snatches of sonatas, symphonies and concertos you hear - but it would have been nice to acknowledge that the film was about a creative artist and musician and let us hear a bit more of his work!

On his deathbed, Beethoven, the greatest of all composers, leaves a note to his "Immortal Beloved." Like Citizen Kane's "Rosebud," this becomes a device to see the life of Beethoven through flashbacks. This interesting mixture of fact and fiction provides a portrait of the composer's social life but sheds little light on his genius for writing music. The soundtrack is all Beethoven (except for a little Rossini), as we get to hear bits and pieces of many of his works. The "Ode to Joy" sequence is well done, juxtaposing the premier of the 9th Symphony with flashbacks to Ludwig's childhood. However, the disjointed structure makes for a somewhat unsatisfying experience. Oldman certainly looks like Beethoven and manages to convey the anguish of a man who never heard most of his greatest works due to deafness, the most cruel fate for a composer.

'Immortal Beloved' opens with Beethoven's death, followed by his funeral attended by the mourning masses...

Beethoven's final will and testament are found by the composer's mentor, Anton Felix Schindler (Jeroen Krabbé) who reads that all of Beethoven's music and fortune shall go to his sole heir, his secret passion, his immortal beloved...

No one then, or now, knows who the 'immortal beloved' is...

Director Bernard Rose decided it might be interesting to take a guess... So he framed his film in a puzzled story with Beethoven's confidante searching across Europe for clues...

Determined not to rest until he discovers the maestro's greatest love, Schindler travels to see several ladies in an attempt to learn the identity of the woman who meant so much to Ludwig van Beethoven...

Along the way, he meets with three candidates: Giulietta Guicciardi, Beethoven's attractive piano pupil, to whom Ludwig dedicated his 'Moonlight' sonata; Johanna Reiss, Beethoven's immoral sister-in-law, who 'could not hate the man who could write such music;' and Anna Marie Erdödy, the beautiful Hungarian Countess, who opened her heart to the German composer...

All of the mentioned women loved Beethoven, and one of them could certainly be his angel, his all, his other self...

With the use of the Ninth Symphony's "Ode to Joy," there is a beautiful shot of young Ludwig floating in the firmament, lost thereafter between the luminous celestial bodies... Another scene is quite poignant of Beethoven, unaware even that the music had ceased, is also unaware of the tremendous burst of applause that greeted it...

'Immortal Beloved' is a love story which not only captures the ideas of early 19th century romanticism, but ultimately attempts to fasten the emotional state of the music to the events that Beethoven lived through... We are given a look into the composer's personality... Beethoven is seen impatient, impulsive, unreasonable and intolerant; deafness adds suspicion and paranoia to these attributes...

We are invited to watch his treasured feelings... We are even touched by an artist who yearns to express himself creatively through music... He is an hostile, obstinate lover who would fly into a rage at the slightest provocation, but a sensible human being who carries the music in his heart, and whom the thorns of life had wounded so deeply...

Like all pianists of the late 18th century, Beethoven is raised on the sonatas of expressive music at a time when music was regarded as the art of pleasing sounds... The dramatic scene of his 'Moonlight Sonata' communicated to a deafened ear, expresses all his emotional pain: We listen beautifully what he cannot... He reveals, through his delightful piece, his soul and the inner torment he is suffering... We perceive what the music is evoking in his mind... we also find that he is a temperamental lover who seeks to reach the perfect love...

With finesse and style Gary Oldman stars as the first composer, always stubborn, unyielding and struggling against destiny... Oldman seems to feel the brave, the commanding, and the impetuous of the virtuoso pianist more than what is reassuring or gentle... The muscles of his face swell, and its veins start out... His wild eye rolls doubly wild... His mouth trembles as he looks overpowered with the character's deafness, strengthened by a stubborn nature...

Set in Vienna, but exquisitely shot in and around Prague, 'Immortal Beloved' concentrates on Beethoven's women, his cruel battle for custody and control of his little nephew, his constant fight with himself, with the sound of agitation...

'Immortal Beloved' is a film enriched by a passion, drama and turbulence of an era... The scenery of the aristocratic palaces, elegant middle class town houses, churches and chapels, monuments and fountains are beautiful and exquisite... Beethoven's compositions (wonderfully performed by the London Symphony Orchestra) are splendid and voluptuous...