1994 play adaptation
Rating: 15/20
Plot: A play in a theater.
This is Louis Malle's last movie. It starts with a shot of Wallace Shawn chomping on something while waiting on a sidewalk for somebody, and then Wallace Shawn and his actor pals chew on the scenery for a couple hours. The collective had been performing this Chekhov play for several months for no audience in various places, and Louis Malle decided it was worth filming. And now here we are 24 years later where I'm watching it because I think it might be worth seeing before I make a list of best films from 1994.
Honestly, I was bored for the first half an hour or so. I liked the theater they were performing in, this really dangerous but beautiful run-down theater where rats have eaten enough to make the stage unusable. Malle's camera focuses on the actors, but early on, the background with its dilapidated walls were more interesting to me. Gradually, the play and its characters grew on me. I also read a plot synopsis which helped me understand what Chekhov's story was about because I'm apparently not intelligent enough to watch a play and figure that out on my own.
I mentioned the actors chewing on the scenery--just like the rats, I guess. I don't mean that as a bad thing. In fact, they really have no choice as there aren't the usual costumes or props or scenic backgrounds to give you much information. That forces the viewer to focus on the words and the characters saying them, and for a dull-minded viewer like me, that might make the whole thing a little boring. The performances really are good though. Wallace Shawn didn't seem like the right fit for Uncle Vanya, but I always enjoy watching him. And I swear, he really did take a bite out of a table at one point in this. Julianne Moore is the real standout here, her Yelena character being the one that allows a performer to showcase the most range. I was wondering if this was before she'd had a lot of screen notoriety, but her career was already rolling right along. I mean, Tales from the Darkside: The Movie came out four years earlier. Andre Gregory is the "director" of the play within the movie, but he doesn't have a lot to do. There's a break for snacking, but there's no time for dinner in this one.
I think there's a conspiracy afoot though! An actress named Phoebe Brand is in this, and I immediately recognized her as Raymond's mother on the Everybody Loves Raymond show. But that wasn't Phoebe Brand; that was Doris Roberts. I looked up Brand to see what else she had done, and this was actually her only movie. Is it possible that Phoebe Brand and Doris Roberts are the same person? Before you go calling me a racist for thinking all old white women look the same, check out these pictures:
Same person, right?
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