Highly-talented Dafoe, with his taut body, sunken cheeks and haunted eyes, as the titular Van Gogh delivers a career best performance that earned him an Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor.

This is not a forensic biography, but rather scenes based on Van Gogh's letters, common agreement about events in his life that present as facts, hearsay, and moments that are just plain invented.

When 27 years of age, Van Gogh decided to become an artist. In a quick transformation, Van Gogh matured from an incompetent but fervent novice into a authentic, original master. Van Gogh, despite scepticism, ridicule, physical and mental illness, created some of the world's most beloved and stunning works of art filled with an extraordinary intensity of emotion.

At Eternity's Gate traverses van Gogh's final two years in the south of France allowing us a glimpse into the mental anguish - his struggle with his own sanity in particular - which wracked him until his death in 1890 aged 37. During this time Van Gogh experiences moments of inspired creativity, clarity and inspiration producing hundreds of works. "I paint what I feel and feel what I paint." This simple statement encapsulates the raw sensuality of his art.

However, he also has periods of internal anguish of self doubt that restricts his creativity. "A grain of madness is the best of art,"writes Van Gogh in one of his many letters. We see in this movie a man acutely aware of his fragility. This visually stunning and vibrant film skillfully presents this mercurial man in all his glory; creating masterpieces that transcend the world in which he lives.

Van Gogh's moments shared with his younger brother Theo, sublimely played by Rupert Friend, show moments of quiet intimacy and tenderness. Van Gogh's deep friendship with the French artist Paul Gauguin is a time of warm and intimate conversations, which inspires both men to paint. "When I see a flat landscape," he tells Gauguin, "I see nothing but eternity. Doesn't everyone?" he asks.

The script is elaborate and graceful with the voice-overs and dialogue adapted from Van Gogh's famous letters to his brother. The cinematographer cleverly captures the impressionistic aspects of Van Gogh's painting by using a partly blurred lens. The camera often takes on Van Gogh's point of view. Sometimes even running beside him creating a feeling of drive and energy. These wordless moments are powerful; beautiful film-making at its best.

At Eternity's Gate provides us with an insight into how a man haunted by demons is able to convert them into vibrant paintings infused with stunning sunlit colours.