Stanley Kubrick documentary 'Filmworker' gives former actor Leon Vitali his due

<h3 class="briefHead">"Filmworker" - ★ ★ ★</h3>

Tony Zierra's insightful documentary "Filmmaker" details what surely must be the greatest Sancho Panza story in cinematic history.

Young, promising British actor Leon Vitali, after his acclaimed performance as Lord Bullingdon in Stanley Kubrick's period piece "Barry Lyndon," gave up his career to follow Kubrick's for the next three decades. Like Don Quixote's faithful squire Sancho, Vitali did whatever the volatile, unpredictable director asked of him.

Vitali organized Kubrick's life, professional and personal. He conducted talent searches. Kept highly detailed notes on everything Kubrick did. Every single thing.

Vitali learned about color timing, creating trailers for international markets, aspect ratios, camera lenses, location scouting, budgets, shooting schedules, whatever he needed to do or know to make things better and easier for the director of such classics as "2001; A Space Odyssey," "A Clockwork Orange," "Lolita" and "Dr. Strangelove."

The former actor put up with gargantuan temper tantrums, insane last-minute changes and mood swings with a patience that would have tested Job. Kubrick used Vitali to fire people and would sign Vitali's name on letters bearing unpleasant news - without Vitali's knowledge.

Nonetheless, Vitali became so attuned to Kubrick's perceptions of the world and the cinematic arts that after his death during the production of "Eyes Wide Shut" in 1999, Vitali suddenly turned into the go-to guy for everyone around asking the same question: What would Stanley do now?

With his lengthy, stringy hair, large, steely eyes and time-carved face, Vitali, now 69, resembles William H. Macy's "Shameless" character Frank Gallagher on a bender.

Vitali still speaks admiringly of Kubrick and how on "Barry Lyndon" he learned the difference between "making films" and merely shooting movies.

His first job for Kubrick: Go find an actor to play Danny Torrance in "The Shining." He found Pekin, Illinois, native Danny Lloyd while working out of the Tremont Hotel in Chicago. Lloyd, now 45, recalled his fond memories of working with Kubrick and Vitali.

"Filmworker" (the term Vitali uses as his profession, because "assistant" didn't seem accurate) interviews actors, production people and his three grown children, who are very blunt about their dad working for an obsessive genius.

Zierra's doc covers a lot of ground for a 93-minute film, making it mandatory viewing for fans and serious students of Kubrick. (Vitali takes credit for finding the twin girls for "The Shining," puncturing the popular notion that Kubrick used them to represent "duplicity" by white leaders against Native Americans.)

Wouldn't it have been a better tribute to Kubrick to make this doc a highly polished production mirroring his obsession for detail and visual composition, rather than Zierra's rather artless journalistic work appearing to be done on the quick?

Even so, "Filmworker" adjusts the scales of justice, finally giving Kubrick's quiet Sancho Panza the credit deserved for enabling the filmmaker to work at full speed, and fight his last windmill with his eyes wide shut.

<b>Directed by:</b> Tony Zierra

<b>Other:</b> A Kino Lorber release. At the Music Box in Chicago. Not rated, but contains rough language, gory images. 94 minutes