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All is Not Lost for the film and the movie theatre

I have enjoyed a series of highly memorable films at Ann Arbor’s State Theater over the past six months and was saddened to see a recent article revealing that it may be transitioning out of film exhibition. While it is admittedly an older venue, there is a distinct retro and neighborhood charm to the place, and the marquee is downright iconic and beautiful. I also feel there is an obvious – though perhaps legally/logistically difficult – opportunity to bring the State back to its former glory by booting out the downstairs generic Urban Outfitters, which has MAINTAINED THE MAIN MOVIE SCREEN IT REPLACED, and reconfigure it back into a movie palace. But will that happen???

With these thoughts in mind I ventured to the State on Friday night to catch the new release All Is Lost. The film has drawn attention for its casting novelty of only featuring Robert Redford, and is the followup film from J.C. Chandor, who made a splash in 2011 with the drama Margin Call, one of my favorite films I saw that year.

This film does not disappoint and offers an at-times harrowing intensity seeing Redford brave against the elements of the Indian Ocean (actually filmed in Baja California and various other points in the Southern California/Northwest Mexico regions). Some might say it’s more of a filmed staged play, as there’s very little dialogue and Redford is (ably) forced to carry the narrative on his active shoulders. The 77 year old actor did not shy away from that challenge, as he willingly performed most if not all of his stunts according to published reports. I am rarely disappointed with films/narratives that offer a full spectrum human experience.

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One-Two Punch: An Iliad & The Counselor

I seem to be gradually re-gaining my frequent theatregoer routine, which is definitely a positive development. For some reason my filmgoing routine has been in overdrive these last several months, often seeing 2 films per week – I ought to have chronicled them more immediately but might try to do a reverse chronological list before the year is out.

I returned to the local Performance Network Theatre a few nights ago to catch An Iliad, their season opener that will be closing this weekend. I found the show to be the most impressive one I’ve seen there yet, and while I’ve only been to 3 or 4 productions there so far, it was a welcome reminder to pay attention to what the company has to offer, as my previous impressions had been more mixed.

This Iliad was a one-man show, and the narrative traced the familiar mythological story, adding some contemporary touches towards the conclusion. I found actor John Manfredi’s performance to be consistently engaging, even though individual moments tend to stand out more in my reflections on the play than the piece as a whole. There were many intriguing uses of set and light design that seemed to be some of the most versatile I had seen on stage in a long while. For example, the stage appeared to be sparsely illuminated by a series of search lights, but those same lights came on and off at very specific times throughout the narrative. Sound design also added a perceptive layer through use of a record player, recorded music and many individual LPs on stage that banded together for a late plot point. And I can’t forget the set as a whole, which used the entirety of PNT’s wide rectangular space to its maximum advantage.

Yesterday I ventured over to the Quality 16 (definitely the oddest named cinema I’ve ever been a regular patron of) to catch new release The Counselor. In retrospect I’m not sure why I rushed out to see this film, but suspect a glitzy advertising campaign and good memory of seeing previous New Mexico/Texas-based Cormac McCarthy (and Javier Bardem) film No Country for Old Men might have contributed to the “want to see” effect. Unfortunately this did not live up to the strong standards of No Country.

McCarthy’s first film script sees him exploring familiar bleak themes of life and death in an arid and lonely landscape. Unfortunately character motivation remains vague throughout the film, and the layered plot is never completely nor clearly unfolded. The featured actors fare inconsistently, and I felt particularly disappointed to see Penelope Cruz regressing to a glorified supportive girlfriend part that might have been more common for her earlier in her career. On the other hand, Cameron Diaz turns in a scenery-chewing performance in multiple ways, though looking noticeably older on-screen – I realize I haven’t chosen to see a new release of hers since The Box in 2009, which only drew me in because it was filmed in my home region of Massachusetts. Of the three primary men in the film, Javier Bardem fares the best, again playing up character eccentricities (a similar approach was seen in Skyfall last year) to create a memorable screen presence.

Two better known in the 90’s Latino actors (John Leguizamo and Rosie Perez) appeared in cameo roles, making me wonder what they’ve been up to the last several years. And the technical makeup of the film impressed me, but that’s not a surprise coming from the skilled hands of veteran filmmaker Ridley Scott.

Next up on my film list is clandestine Disney documentary Escape from Tomorrow, playing a very limited engagement at the Michigan Theater this week.

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Circle Mirror Transformation – transforms?

Last Friday night, I finally saw Circle Mirror Transformation, a play by Annie Baker, with my own eyes. This production was also my first time inside Ann Arbor’s Kerrytown Concert House, a venue that seemed to have some esteem and local renown – and was charmingly intimate inside (and walking distance from my new apartment).

I remain very impressed with Baker’s writing, and am eager to see her most recent piece, The Flick, produced somewhere as it begins to make the regional rounds. I will always remember her quote in a Boston Globe interview that her theatrical universe town of Shirley, Vermont, is “a cross between Amherst, Massachusetts, Putney, Vermont, and Bolinas, California” since I know two of those three towns very well and have a passing acquaintance with the other one.

The production had some nice moments, but suffered, in my opinion, from an overly leisurely running time. The story unfolded for two hours and five minutes, but when I looked up other productions, they had told the same tale in as much as 25 fewer minutes. I got a bad feeling when a non-verbal prologue became … prolonged, and that reminded me of how I often depend on the play – or any piece of entertainment, really – to hook me in (or keep my interest high) within the first 5-10 minutes of the show.

I was intrigued by several scenes in the play containing exercises I’d come across in my drama therapy coursework of 2009-11, with one scene featuring verbatim an infamous game known as “I Want It… You Can’t Have It”. Much of the plot seemed intended to be drama therapy in fictional action and more than just theatre games. 

Did Baker intend for it to be that way? A Google search tells me that she did.

I wish I’d seen this play earlier! I may write more about that revelatory experience of seeing DT in action again.

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In a World… where comedy is rooted in reality

I was very pleased that the Michigan Theater belatedly brought the movie In A World.. to Ann Arbor. Something about this movie stood out to me when I became aware of it over the summer. I’m not sure if it was the striking image of Lake Bell prepping a voceover that serves as the film’s poster, something about a news article or publicity item I read, or something else entirely, but I wanted to see it, and even considered making a trip to Royal Oak specifically to see it at the Landmark – but then I learned it was on the calendar at the Michigan.

Versatile actress Lake Bell served as writer, director and star for this film, clearly putting much thought and heart into the project. Bell has an appealingly everyday screen presence, though this was perhaps enhanced by a dowdy wardrobe and several “aw, shucks” character choices. I think what made this film stand out to me was her choice to root the comedy in a very real situation, which is something I feel like films don’t often dare to choose.

In this case the plot revolved around the trials and tribulations of making it in the voiceover industry, which is something I’ve had some observational – but not direct – experience of over the years. Bell confronts the reality (and it is a reality) of no women ever voicing movie trailers – and decides to do something about it. With the help of some friends and colleagues. And … her father. Sort of. Who is also a bigshot in the industry and has his own networks and goals. 

The film cast a light on the (occasionally narcissistic) competitiveness of the performing arts industry – and actually acknowledged that trait! I give Bell big props for being willing to go there with her work while finding a resolution to the storyline. She also poked some fun at Los Angeles culture – and made me miss it (though I will be back there, briefly, in February.) I’m not sure her plot really needed several dramatic interludes that felt like padding in the wider scheme of the film, but she led the character arc to a suitable and thoughtful conclusion. Her script was peppered with extensive witticisms and frequent industry in-jokes that I appreciated.

I’m sure this film will stand out on my year-end list.

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Publicity = Spontaneity

This week, a variety of activities have reminded me of the enviable spontaneity of British theatre publicity photographs, which are things I had frequently admired in the past, but more recently had forgotten about. For some enviable and not immediately explicable reason, many of these types of pictures appear to have a casually caught in the headlights type of look, from which the artist looks directly at the viewer, or is caught by the viewer, but (and this is crucial) still is caught in the midst of their own activity. ready to move on to something else.

Unfortunately I can’t find too many examples of this type of picture on the internet (maybe it’s more of a printed thing, fitting with that spontaneity idea) – but this publicity shot from last year had caught my eye, and I saved it on my computer, feeling that it got the point across very sleekly.

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Community Theatre, Delaware, Theatre, Uncategorized

Recap to Move Forward

In order to move forward and regain some momentum with this blog, I thought it would be helpful to recap the shows I’ve seen thus far this year. I feel like it should be more than 10, though that is probably a case of wanting to see more shows than I actually have.
>>EDIT: Oh, yes, it is more than 10. Just.

More details to come. And here they are:

1. Vsnessa Schukis – Community Music Center of Boston

2. Copenhagen – Flat Earth Theatre Company

3. Body Awareness – The Wilma Theater

4. Fallow – People’s Light and Theatre

5. Dead Man’s Cell Phone – Bootless Artworks

6. Time Stands Still – Delaware Theatre Company

7. Peggy Shaw in Conversation – Hampshire College

8. Almost, Maine – Lewiston/Auburn Community Little Theatre

9. Romeo & Juliet – Salisbury School

10. What Corbin Knew – The Penny Seats

11. Totally Awesome Players – Delaware Theatre Company

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Theatre N and the Gainsbourgs

Over the past month, I have quickly become a regular patron of Theatre N in downtown Wilmington. This single screen cinema inside an office building is an unusual place. It began life in 2002 specifically to show independent, foreign and specialty films AND (more importantly) bring some cultural life into the city’s downtown. I would say that it succeeds on both fronts. But, with my aforementioned high standards, I would like to see it open seven nights a week, offering a wider variety of programs including live events.

On my most recent visit, there was an unusual coincidence in film programming. While awaiting the start of a film called Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, chronicling the life and times of French musician Serge Gainsbourg, Theatre N happened to run a trailer for the film Melancholia (coming next weekend) which features Gainsbourg’s daughter Charlotte in a supporting role. Subsequently, the bio-pic rolled out, and Charlotte was a clear supporting presence in the film, portrayed by a young actress.

I feel like I want to say more about this coincidence, but the point in posting about it is that I got to thinking about those blurred lines between reality and fantasy, and art and life. I may not have been the only one in the audience who noticed Charlotte in the trailer, but I don’t think everyone there knew of the connection. Conversely, if Charlotte herself was sitting there in the Wilmington audience, would she want to be recognized? Incognito? A brief commentary? The situation was further amplified when I discovered she’d been offered the opportunity to portray her father in the bio-pic, but understandably declined.

Perhaps this coincidence is worthy of further discussion, or perhaps it is… just a coincidence.

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Garofalo goes to the theatre

A recent NY Times ArtsBeat blog post reports that actress Janeane Garofalo, who was my favorite actress for a time in the 1990’s, will appear Off Broadway this winter. I am strongly inclined to attend!

The article provides some brief commentary from Janeane herself, with her customary self-deprecating humor.

“I don’t speak Russian,” she said. “The character is a Russian immigrant who speaks Russian so I double-checked that that was the part I was supposed to do.” Nonetheless, Ms. Garofalo was drawn to the production by the strength of the script and was convinced by Mr. Elliott that she could play the part. “I could probably fake my way through using broken English with a Russian accent, but he has this way of convincing you that you can do anything,” she said. “It’s an exciting challenge, but at the same time I am terrified about seeming like the biggest fraud in the world.”

 

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