Another 3

I've been on something of a theater-to-film kick as of late, more by accident than anything else, but it has reminded me of my profound affection for the stage. Often enough, these translations do not work as well as they might seem to in their inception (I'm looking at you, almost all of the more recent Phantom of the Operas), though I think on the whole, stage to screen has a tendency to be at least tolerable. And of course there are numerous examples of spectacular translations between the mediums: Asquith's version of Rattigan's The Browning Version, The Ruling Class with the rapture that is Peter O'Toole, and of course Kurosawa's Shakespeare adaptations. 

I finally got my hands on a copy of Vanya on 42nd Street with Louis Malle behind the camera, and with Malle already being a personal favorite of mine, I was more than satisfied with the direction he went. He adds a few filmic layers on top of what is already a rich and wonderful slice of Chekhov. But Malle doesn't try to hide behind the artifice of his chosen format. He still lets Chekhov do most of the heavy lifting and allows the actors to show their love for the material and also occasionally their fears or misgivings about their roles or performances. And it is primarily a film about acting. The theater is old and crumbling, the stage is mostly bare, there are no costumes since the film is set during the dress rehearsal. But somehow we are drawn in by the soft lighting, the richness of the performances and certainly Chekhov's themes. But in allowing us the opportunity to sit in on this dress rehearsal and see the director and the small audience, the film is also about theater-going, about the church-like atmosphere when you step into the auditorium in anticipation of the couple of hours. 

The next night I pulled up Oleanna. Certainly a change of pace from Vanya, but not necessarily less powerful. David Mamet (who actually adapted the screenplay for Vanya on 42nd street, oddly enough) writes scripts that probably don't like you, just as I imagine Mamet would if you met him on the street. He knows how to write a tight script though. Is Oleanna as much fun to watch as maybe Glengarry Glen Ross? Nope. It takes on a larger number of themes than most  scripts do: we have issues of patriarchy, particularly in the context of higher education, sexism, pedagogy, the aggressive qualities of the teacher/student dynamic and the power struggles that go on within, among others. This can make it difficult to nail down what the film is actually getting at. Who does Mamet want us to understand more? Does the shift toward violence at the end negate the points that Macy's character was making throughout? None of these have clear cut answers. Having been a teacher, myself, I am familiar with some of the emotions that go along with the films setting, and it is right to call out Macy's character on these issues, but I am still not sure that he knew what was at stake until it was too late. And though we never see them, those on the tenure board are likely taking action against motivations that they, too, perpetuate. 

And one for good measure. This did not come from a play, but it almost could have been. Todd Field's 2001 film In the Bedroom is not perfect, but the performances approach a level of perfection in their own way. Tom Wilkinson is almost too good in this. Sally Field also plays quite well opposite him but the reason we have seen so much of Wilkinson in the past 10 years is because of this performance. Todd Field, while not a particularly wonderful director, captures coastal Maine quite beautifully, the sea, the lobster boats, the pastels. I will decline to discuss the plot since it would be terribly difficult to even mention themes when so much of the film's weight comes from a central action that radically alters the tone of it, but suffice it to say that it is a work that everyone involved in it should be proud.