'Little Ashes' review

Javier Beltrán and Robert Pattinson (Credit: Regent and Here Media)

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Even huge stars have old college buddies: Before he became a world-renowned surrealist painter and unpredictable eccentric, Salvador Dalí (Robert Pattinson) was pals with future filmmaker Luis Buñuel and poet Federico García Lorca. In fact, Dalí was apparently more than friends with García Lorca (Javier Beltrán), a relationship that apparently wasn't easy to develop or maintain in conservative, early '20s Madrid.

The buzz: As oceans of tween girls already know, Pattinson is, like, the hottest thing ever thanks to his brooding turn as vampire Edward Cullen in "Twilight." Can the English actor similarly devour the role of iconic painter Dalí and attract audiences to a movie that's much less vibrant than its subject?

The verdict: If only the score kicked in to indicate when someone's passion was stirring...oh goody, it does! Otherwise "Little Ashes" offers little demonstration of these artists' abilities, emotional tidal waves or the socio-political issues they rebelled against. (It often feels like we join scenes a few days late.) Pattinson fails to modulate Dalí's peculiarities into a combination of instinct and experience, making the artist more of an arrogant madman than a unique mind seemingly driven over the edge by pain and a competitive spirit. In art there's nothing more damning than being called tedious and simple; "Ashes" is both.

Did you know? One of the guys' pals notes, "Our lives are an elaborate deception." Think about if you agree...or if you think hanging out with people who talk such goofily pretentious nonsense means you need new friends.

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