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CurtainUp
By Elyse Sommer
Index of Topics (Items are posted with the
most recent at the top
Nine
Julie and Julia
Every Little Step, a documentary about the making of A Chorus Line
Doubt
Frost-Nixon
Sweeney Todd--Includes DVD review
Charlie Wilson's War
Back to Index of Topics
News of Plays into Films. Nine Nine, the musical inspired by legendary movie directonewsmakingr Frederico (8 1/2) Fellini, hasn't had quite the perennial cat's nine lives. However, it has had two news making lives on Broadway, as a musical conceived by Arthur Kopit and Maury Yeston. Raul Julia originated the role of Guido Contini the director at a standstill in his career by his messy, women filled life in 1983. Antonia Banderas reprised it quite dashingly six years ago and that revival lasted long enough for John Stamos to replace him. (Curtainup Review) Now, Rob Marshall has brought the filmmaker's story to the screen with Daniel Day-Lewis as the singing-and-dancing but troubled film maker.
Day-Lewis is an unlikely choice but his singing isn't half bad, and besides most of the musical numbers were written for the women and don't involve Guido. His performance overall, as one would expect from this versatile actor, is excellent. If movie goers were like film goers, they would give him a standing ovation.
There are other interesting big name casting choices in Penelop Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Fergie, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson the one and only Sophia Loren . Cruz especially is a knockout as the sex-kitten and does well by the show's most memorable number," A Call From the Vatican." Like Day-Lewis, everyone sings a lot better than expected.
Anyone who loved Nine on stage will go to this film ready to fall in love all over again. Unfortuantely, this doesn't happen. Despite the insurance of a starry cast, its links to the Broadway hit and the classic Fellini film, d irector Rob Marshall, best known for choreographing Cabaret and his razzle-dazzle staging of the super hit Chicago, hasn't struck solid gold. The plot for anyone unfamiliar with it: The setting is Rome 1965 and director Guido ping-pongs between his mistress (Penelope Cruz), his muse (Nicole Kidman), and his late mother (Sophia Loren). Add his best friend (Judi Dench) and long-suffering wife (Marion Cotillard), sexy reporter (Kate Hudson) and a prostitute (Fergie) emerging from his childhood memories and it's no wonder that he's unable to get going on the film he's supposed to make — and that Marshall and his screenwriters (Michael Tolkin and the late Anthony Minghella) have been equally unsuccessful in creating a film about a very Italian character defined through his relationships to women, men, religion, and culture. To their credit they didn't procrastinated like Guido did get their film to the screen.
While this starry cast is fun to watch and there are enough numbers that dazzle and entertain, the film overall is too episodic to have the aimed for character depth and except for Loren, there are very few Italians to be seen. Whatever their nationality, even these big name actors tend to be upstaged by the gorgeous scenic shots which should do wonders for the Rome tourist business.
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Julie and Julia
Meryl Streep & Stanley Tucci as Julia and Paul Childs in Juli & Julia
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Telling the paralell stories of a culinary icon and a contemporary blogger for whom cooking her way through Childs' French cooking bible as an escape from a stressful deadend job would seem to be an unlikely marriage. But thanks to Nora Ephron's savvie screenplay and the incomparable Meryl Streep as Julia Childs, it makes for a combination that can best be described with a word used by Julie, Julia, their ultra-supportive husbands, and various others upon tasting one of the tasty meals: "Yum!" And you don't have to be an accomplished or wannabe gourmet cook to find Julie and Julia well worth the cost of your ticket. Without special effects, a lot of action or suspense — just tons of charm and a thoroughly upbeat double love story— even male moviegoers are likely to find it an enjoyable alternative to the usual bang-bang-bang school of moviemaking.
The film's centerpiece is of course its Julia. Meryl Streep's incredible versatility and aptitude with accents and personas, have made her ability to play almost any role legendary —so much so, that she inspired a group of male Los Angeles thespians headed by actor-comedian Roy Cruz, to combine a search for their "inner Streep" with a tribute to Streep's performances by re-creating some of her most famous screen monologues into an evening entitled "Streep Tease." If this theater event catches on, it's a sure bet that Streep's Julia Childs will be added to the currently scheduled memorable moments from the likes of The Devil Wears Prada, Out of Africa" and The Bridges of Madison County.
Julia Childs as portrayed by Streep isn't so much an impersonation as a spot-on take on the voice and mannerisms that truly bring the real Childs back to life. A bit of camera trickery to accentuate her height and fine work by costumer Ann Roth and hair and makeup stylist J. Roy Holland go a long way toward's abetting Streep's acting wizardry.
I didn't track the time allotted to the alternating segments of Julia Childs' journey from being the privileged wife of a diplomat who, though blissfully married fees the need for "something to doooo" and Julie Powell's finding the answer to her dream of being a writer instead of a drudge in a government agency via a daunting cooking project and blogging about it. However, it felt as if screenwriter and director Nora Ephron gave equal time to each. That said, though Julie's story neatly parallels Julia's and Amy Adams is a most appealing Julie, her story is a bright blip on the cultural landscape whereas Julia Child's contribution is deeply embedded. Still, the film's segues between the alternating universe of Julia and husband Paul (Stanley Tucci) in post World War II Paris, with the shadow of McCarythism clouding their idyllic life, and that of Julie and husband Eric (Chris Messina) in Long Island City, not only lends piquancy to the film but underscores Julia Childs' mission: to bring the art of French cooking to women raised on fast food eating and the more nuts and bolts recipes found in Irma Rombauer's The Joy of Cooking.
Frances Sternhagen actually makes a brief but highly amusing appearance as Rombauer and that brings me to another reason Curtainup's readers who are live theater enthusiasts will relish this picture. The cast list is chockablock with Broadway and Off-Broadway actors. Like Streep, the actors who as Julie's and Julia's husbands contribute to their emotional well being as well as their professional achievements, regularly appear on stage as well as screen. There are other meaty parts for well known stage actors, notably Linda Emond and Helen Carey as Julia's collaborators Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle. Some, like Sternhagen make cameo appearances; for example, George Bartenieff as Chef Max Bugnard; Deborah Rush as Julia's friend Avis De Voto; Byron Jennings, Kelly AuCoin and Richard Bekins as the three Houghton Mifflin executives who missed a golden opportunity to publish the book. For this reviewer, whose pre-internet publishing life was spent as an author's agent specializing in midlist books, the film's talk of $1500 advances brought back memories of the days when a book had a chance to earn its authors long-range royalties as backlist titles.
. If I have one quibble with this film it's is that it once again denigrates life in Queens. Long Island City happens to be a hot bed of artist studios and the c utting edge PS1 arts center. The borough also boasts some of the best and most ethnically diverse restaurants with fare that's affordable but decidedly Yum! Back to Index of Topics
Every Little Step The 2006 revival of A Chorus Line may have met with mixed critical and financial success, but as a subject for documentary treatment, it's an inspired choice. Every Little Step is the wonderful backstage story of one of the most famous backstage dramas of all. The film is both a fly-on-the-wall documentary of the revival's audition process, and a retelling of the show's unique creation process and stunning success.
What makes the documentary so fascinating is the unprecedented access of filmmakers James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo. To begin with, Stern and Del Deo made an arrangement with Actors' Equity and the revival's producers to film the musical's extended audition process, from open calls to final callbacks. In addition, they have unearthed the original audio tapes upon which Michael Bennett based the show, and some wonderful (albeit grainy) archival footage of the original production. The audition process sequences, which give the documentary its heart and drama, give the documentary something of an American Idol flair. The filmmakers taped hundreds of wannabes going through their paces, worrying about their performances, and being coached by A Chorus Line veterans like Baayork Lee (the original cast member and revival choreographer) and Bob Avian (original co-choreographer and revival director). The casting team has a lot of interesting and often critical comments on the performers, but there's no Simon Cowell-esque nasty commentary on display. The emphasis here is on professionalism and hard work. Still, there's plenty onscreen juiciness. To begin with, many of the auditioning actors are well-known to the Broadway stage, and their performances aren't always flattering. For example, the filmmakers show several actresses performing the exact same dance moves as they audition for the role of Cassie; none however could match the flawlessness of Charlotte d'Amboise's movements. At another point, we see side-by-side onscreen comparisons of the actresses auditioning for the role of Kristine. And best of all, in one almost painfully fascinating sequence the women trying out for Maggie struggle to hit her big high note during the beautiful “At the Ballet” number. There's even something of a villain character here: one of actors auditioning for Wayne Cilento's old role of Mike comes off as obnoxiously overconfident.
The archival footage, paired with commentaries from original A Chorus Line personalites such as Donna McKechnie and Marvin Hamlisch, is equally interesting. Michael Bennett's original audiotaped conversations with Broadway gypsies are a highlight, and these reels are juxtaposed beautifully with the current-day auditions. For instance, we'll hear Baayork Lee telling her life story on tape, then see Lee herself judge the young actresses who are using Lee's words as they audition for her old role of Connie Wong.
Even with all these delights, there's something disappointing about the film when you consider it in context. No matter how excited these actors are to be starring on Broadway, we now know that A Chorus Line wasn't at all the unfettered success everyone onscreen is expecting. And Every Little Step even shows us why that was the case. A Chorus Line's dialogue is generally pretty creaky, and even Paul and Cassie's big emotional moments feel a little forced. And the actors' performances themselves don't always translate well, either: over and over again I thought "No wonder the revival wasn't a hit" while watching them perform. Of all the featured auditioners, only Chryssie Whitehead as Kristine comes across as a perfect fit, both fresh and convincing (an opinion which Elyse Sommer shared in her review of the revival. That said, just as in A Chorus Line itself, it's difficult not to be moved by the scores of actors looking for their big break. Like the musical it studies, Every Little Step is ultimately a wonderful valentine to these hardworking and forever hopeful young dancers.
—reviewed by Julia Furay
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Meryl Streep & Philip Seymour Hoffman
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Doubt.
John Patrick Shanley's play (Curtainup review) swept the awards boards in 2005, garnering Tonys and a Pulitzer, but transferring to the screen with equal success was problematic. Many movie-goers don't read or care about theater reviews. The story of a priest and a nun debating over the priest's possibly predatory attitude towards a boy in his charge has made headlines repeatedly, so the theme is not exactly surprising. And that brilliant funny playwright John Patrick Shanley's foray as a director of his own film script Joe vs. The Volcano didn't save it's wry whimsy from confusing both audience and critics.
So thank whatever gods may be that this movie and its writer/director got the green light to go together where they ought to go. Shanley chose a completely different cast from the Broadway production and, no slight intended to the Tony-winning Broadway cast, it's fascinating to see new people interpret these roles. Set in 1964 in the kind of Catholic school the playwright attended, it centers on the conflict between the principal Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) and charismatic young Father Flynn (). The sister suspects the father of preying on boys, particularly the vulnerable Donald Muller, first Negro child to be admitted to the school.
Streep as Sister Aloyisius is a traditional authoritarian who believes in her instincts almost more than in her God, with an asperity leavened by surprising flashes of dry humor. Hoffman is brotherly and charming as the charismatic Father Flynn. Viola Davis, in the unforgettable character of Mrs. Muller, is apprehensive but quivering with determination to do whatever she must for her child. It's one of the most powerful scenes Shanley has written and Davis does it full justice. Amy Adams peels away the innocence of Sister James, the young idealistic teacher whose values are shredded by the play's end.
There's no trace here of the heightened language Shanley has used to such dazzling effect. This is the pared-down speech of every day but the playwright's imagination inspires Father Flynn's sermons and his humanity glows through Sister Aloysius's wit. Shanley brings out the humor in the characters and, through his emphasis, new nuances in Father Flynn's sermons. Doubt is already in play in Father Flynn's mind, as he makes that subject the focus of his initial appearance in the pulpit. Shanley keeps the story as tightly in the confines of the school as it is on stage, with only one break-out scene where Sister Aloyisius walks Mrs. Muller back to her job along a cold grey November street. The walk heightens the sense of urgency because of the tightness of Mrs. Muller's lunch hour and her conflicted desire to run away from what she has to say. The director also brilliantly contrasts the priests' dinner table with its dim lights, laughter and wine to the nuns' brightly-lit austere dinner table where only milk is served and the film also expands by using visualization in Father Flynn's pillow sermon in which the gossiping woman is actually depicted watching the feathers from her pillow. The director further broadens his scope by including glimpses of the young students in this school.
Although Sister Aloysius believes she has the proof she needs, her final words summarize the theme of the play: "Oh, Sister James, I have such doubts, such doubts! ". She's not referring to Father Flynn necessarily or even to Mrs. Muller's revelations. She's referring to the whole cusp of the world, as it lurches from the prim dogmatic 1950s into the fragmented openness of the 1960s. Not that she would ever go there but the fact that the crack in that door is opened by her is a testament to the nun's character. The playwright will never give you a reading on what the play means but he doesn't need to. It's all beautifully there with the questions, the passions, the conflicts and the spirituality of real life.
—reviewed by Laura Hitchcock Back to Index of Topics
Frank Langella as Richard Nixon
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Frost-Nixon.
Peter Morgan's dramatization of the famous interviews between British talk show host David Frost and former American president Richard Nixon began as a play (play review), with video monitors augmenting the experience. However, the big screen is where this really belongs and where it's at it's best. The screen is the medium where both Frost and Nixon made their mark.
Director Ron Howard is a child of television and has an innate sensitivity for the use both Frost and Nixon make of the media. He intercuts brilliantly, making a fascinating suspense story out of raw material.Though a little drawn-out, the story of how Frost overcomes his talk show host persona to take down the more experienced Tricky Dick is the fascinating one. And the final close-ups, in which Nixon finally says he's sorry, are powerfully expressive. Frank Langella and Michael Sheen repeat their Broadway roles. Neither man resembles the person he plays but both express the essence of their personalities. Langella lends Nixon a modicum of warmth that lurked in his feelings for his children and animals. No one is totally one-dimensional and Langella is too fine an actor not to find some sympathy in his character. Sheen plays Frost with sprightly sleeziness, but brings out the determination of a man who's willing to risk his own fortune on interviews nobody else will back. Rebecca Hall lends dry humor and off-hand sensuality to the role of Sheen's girlfriend, Caroline Cushing. Sam Rockwell plays a fiercely determined James Reston, Junior, out to get Nixon and Oliver Platt adds heft and character to Bob Zelnick. Kevin Bacon fully inhabits Nixon's militaristic aide, Jack Brennan, with a redeeming loyalty to his boss. Michael McFadyen is attractive and honorable in the thankless role of Jack Brit, Frost's producer, a part with as little range for his talents as the real Brit. Pat Nixon is played with ladylike resignation by Patty McCormick, who debuted as a child murderess in “The Bad Seed”. Who would have thought she'd grow up to be Pat Nixon?—reviewed by Laura Hitchcock Back to Index of Topics
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Sweeney now on DVD
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The 2005 Broadway revival in which director John Doyle eliminated an orchestra and had the performers play instruments as well as act and sing, was a case in point. Some critics and audiences loved it (including Curtainup's chief critic-- review), some found this pared down staging a style whose time should never have come. Tim Burton's film has so far generated its own controversy —though the ecstatic yeas seem to outweight the so-sos and nays and the first weekend box office results put this Sweeney into the top 5 category.
To begin, anyone who doesn't like violence, beware. The film gushes blood like a rich oil well, especially in the second half. As for the casting, neither Johnny Depp or Helena Bonham Carter are singers. Yet, and this is where director Burton and screenplay writer John Logan have won over many of even the musical's diehard fans (and apparently Mr. Sondheim) to his vision, Depp and Carter powerfully convey Burton's Grand Guignol vision even though their voices are not in a class with such stage interpreters as Angela Lansbury and Patty LuPone or Michael Ceveris.
Depp's voice is quite strong, Carter's a bit on the thin side-- but they make Sondheim's arias work. And while several numbers (like the Ballad of the Deman Barber) have been sacrificed to the film's look and feel, and in the interest of bringing the film in at a little under two hours, the overall streamlining has not done major harm.
The casting generally focuses on non singers (with the exception of Laura Michelle Kelly who plays the Beggar woman): Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin, Timothy Spallas Beadle Bamford, Sacha Baron Cohen as Signor Adolfo Pirelli and Christopher Lee as the gentleman ghost, Jamie Campbell Bowen as Anthony, Jayne Wisener as Johanna, Ed Sanders as Toby.
And so, as a theater person and someone not generally drawn to the macabre, I went to my local theater with some trepidations about the excessive violence, a musical starring non-singing actors and the generally unsatisfactory translation of musicals to movies. Ultimately, I liked what I saw and though I hesitate to join those who have dubbed it a masterpiece. I liked Depp's passion and Bonham Carter's witchy Mrs. Lovett. They both know how to carry a song even without being singers. However, I found their interpretation of the character interesting though neither they, or anyone else in the film, eclipsed my more stirring memories of what for me will always be the real Sweeney Todd.
DreamWorks and Warner Brothers are to be commended for taking on this risky project that, whether on stage or screen, goes counter to the conventions of what we expect from the American Musical. —Reviewed by Miriam Colin
Postscript: The film on your home screen! The dark and bloody film has now been transferred into DVD format so that you can watch it on the small screen and perhaps keep the lights on to make the blood and gore just a bit more palatable. However you watch it, and even on a small-ish screen, the DVD is crisp and clear with Johnny Depp as sad and demented as ever. Actually the reduced size of the images somehow enhances the Victorian London street scenes, the contrast of the touches of bloody red against the overall black and white palette and the painterly flashback to Todd's earlier and happier history. The DVD is available as a single and deluxe double disk. Even though the special features have a lot of not very special features, there are a couple of historic background items that make the collector's edition the preferable choice, especially since the price difference is minimal. Back to Index of Topics
Charlie Wilson's War.
It was a bit weird to see director Mike Nichols' and screenwriter Aaron Sokin's clever satire inspired by the Afghanistan and extra-curricular passions of a former womanizing, hard-drinking East Texas congressman named Charlie Wilson the day after the assassination of Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto. There's even a mention of Bhutto's father who also died violently (hanged by his enemies). The way this plays out in Charlie Wilson's War,
the funloving Wilson is played by Tom Hanks and manages to be more charming than gross, as dedicated to good causes as he is to indulging his passion for sex, booze and drugs—that is once caught up in sexy, God fearing Houston Socialite Joan Herring's (Julia Roberts) project for getting more money and weapons for the Afghan rebels to counter the Communists' ruthless bombings and end the Cold War. Sorkins adaptation of a book by George Crile and Nichols' slick as sleet direction takes us on a whirlwind tour behind the scenes in Washington, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Israel as Congressman Charlie proceeds to devote all his power to procuring this militrary aid without it looking as if it's coming from the United States. What helps you to accept and enjoy the wheeling and dealing for what it is —a clever entertainment — is attributable to the terrific performances. Hanks and Roberts are a sizzling with chemistry team. But best of all is Philip Seymour Hoffman as Gus Avrakotos, a tough CIA operative who hooks up with Wilson. Hoffman is truly a man of a thousand personas, whether on stage or screen. His relationship with Hanks is another example of actors with smashing stage chemistry
As the film moves between the crisis in Afghanistan and Wilson's career crisis resulting from drug charges brought against him by none other than the crime busting Rudolph Giuliani before his turn as America's Mayor and Republican presidential hopeful. But as Hanks makes Wilson a much more sympathetic character than he must have been, so his wheeling and dealing which led to the U.S. support of the Afghan rebels and did contribute to the end of the Cold War is ultimately more sad than funny — a maddening reflection of foreign policies without a properly planned end game since it also made the region a training ground for Islamic terrorist activitities. The charismatic lead players are well supported by a large cast of players including his sexy all female staff (Bonnie Bach, Hilary Angelo, Cyia Batten). Theater goers will recognize veteran stage actor Ned Beatty as a character called Doc Long. They'll also wonder if the versatile Hanks (he's added directing to his movie star gigs) will ever be tempted to test the Broadway waters as his Texas millionaire colleague Julia Roberts did not long ago.
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