Mary Harron’s sharp-witted comedy of bad manners stars Sir Ben Kingsley as the titular Salvador Dalí, one of the most world-renowned artists of the 20th century and focuses on the later years of the strange and fascinating marriage between him and his wife (Barbara Sukowa), as their seemingly unshakable bond begins to stress and fracture.
Theirs is a grand folie à deux – a co-dependant match between two people of unquenchable ego and indomitable will. Gala is obsessed by money while Dali is obsessed by her, intent on ensuring that he never loses her. Set in New York and Spain in 1974, the film is told through the eyes of James, a young assistant keen to make his name in the art world, who helps the eccentric and mercurial Dalí prepare for a big gallery show. "A glorious carnival". The New Yorker