Tag: Drama

Three Reviews: “Paris Blues” (1961), “He Knew He Was Right” (2004), & “Two Lovers” (2008)

Emma1 Comment

Paris Blues (1961)

This is a TERRIFIC, though lesser-known, Paul Newman-Joanne Woodward film.  (It was made after their marriage and birth of their first child.)  Trombone player Ram Bowen (Newman) and saxophonist Eddie Cook (Sidney Poitier) are expatriate American jazz musicians living in Paris.  They have a regular gig at a small/artsy/popular club, though Ram has a dream of being a serious composer.  Also, Ram is in a (friends w/ benefits) relationship w/ the singer/owner of the club, Marie.

The guys meet two beautiful American tourists- straight-talking jazz lover Lilian (Woodward) and socially-conscious teacher Connie (Diahann Carroll).  After Ram meets his old friend “Wild Man” Moore (Louis Armstrong) on a train, he confidantly approaches Connie.  This must’ve raised some eyebrows in ’61- a white man hitting on a black woman.  Of course, it was no big deal in France.  Ram invites her to hear him play at the club.  Connie brushes off his come-on and comments that she has a white friend with her.  Soon Lilian arrives to meet Connie; we see her keen interest in Ram.

Though Connie is suspicious of guys like Ram (“I know these jazz musicians…”), Lilian convinces her to go to the club that night.  When she hears Ram play, Lilian is visibly moved by the music.

Aside from romance, this film deals head-on with serious issues- ambition, racism, and drug abuse (one of the musicians at the club is addicted to cocaine).  The costumes, scenery, lighting, music, and dialogue are pitch perfect.  Newman and Poitier seem like two old friends; the chemistry between the two couples is almost palpable.  (As you may know, Poitier and Carroll were romantically involved at this time.)

Newman, who plays an anti-hero here, has some very good lines.  “Look, you don’t want me for what you want,” he tells Lilian directly when she shows interest in going out after a gig.  Lilian calmly comments that she’ll decide what she wants.  This is a grown-up look at love, not a fairy-tale story.  Check it out ASAP!

 

He Knew He Was Right (2004)

 

I watched this BBC miniseries for the second time recently.  Novelist Anthony Trollope was inspired to write the book by Shakespeare’s tragedy, Othello.  The main character, irrationally jealous husband Louis Trevelyan is also based on the author’s (often temperamental) father.

Louis (young Brit Oliver Dimsdale), a posh London gentleman, goes to the Canary Islands and falls quickly in love with Emily (Scotswoman Laura Fraser), the lovely daughter of the governor.  Though she is young and has never been in British society, he proposes marriage.  “He looks like a man who likes to have his way,” her father comments, though he feels it will be a very good match.  “Emily likes to have her way, too,” her concerned mother adds.

Emily and Louis settle in London and have a son.  Emily’s gorgeous young sis, Nora (Christina Cole) lives w/ them; she’s much admired by the bachelors in their circle.  But she falls for Louis’ best pal- young journalist Hugh Stanbury (Stephen Campbell Moore).  They can’t marry right away, as Hugh doesn’t come from money, is just getting started in his career, and has a mom and sisters to support out in the country.

To their friends, the Trevelyans seem to be the perfect marrieds.  But things start to go sour when Emily’s father’s old friend, and reputed playa, Colonel Osborne (Bill Nighy) enters the picture.  At a party, an older lady comments on his bad boy ways, alerting Louis.  Osborne visits Emily at the house; Louis doesn’t like this, as it could expose his wife to rumor and innuendo.  Emily, who is innocent/unspoiled like Desdemona, wonders why she shouldn’t see an old family friend.  “But I won’t see him if you forbid me to,” she eventually promises.

Osborne is refused entry to the house, but he approaches the couple while they’re out on a stroll in the park.  When the older man calls Emily by her first name, Louis gets visibly angry.  (In Victorian society, if a man called a woman by her first name, it could be inferred that he had intimate knowledge of her.)  Emily pulls Louis away, rushing towards home.  Finally, Louis decides to send Emily, his boy, and Nora to live in the country w/ the Stanbury ladies.  He rationalizes this decision by saying they’ll be “safe” there from Osborne.  Emily is stunned, but goes along w/ the plan.  (What other choice does she have?)  Her friends and family believe that Louis will soon come to his senses.

Aside from the main (dark/serious) storyline, there are several lighter ones to keep you entertained.  Nora and Hugh share a very tender love.  The eligible, soon to be titled Mr. Glascock (Raymond Coulthard), is intrigued by a forthwright American woman he meets while traveling in Italy.  Hugh’s sister, plain/serious Priscilla Stanbury (Amy Marston) doesn’t expect any beaus to come her way, but wants her kindly younger sis Dorothy (Caroline Martin) to marry.  When their rich/elderly aunt (Anna Massey) asks Dottie to become her companion, the world opens up for the good-hearted girl.

The flirtatious Reverend Gibson (Scotsman David Tennant) can’t seem to choose between three women in his town- Dottie and two vain, eager-to-marry sisters (character actresses Claudie Blakely and Fennella Woolgar).  Hilarity ensues when he decides on the wrong woman.

 

Two Lovers (2008)

Leonard Kraditor (Joaquin Phoenix), having survived heartbreak and suicide attempts, lives with his watchful (yet kindly) parents in the predominantly Russian Jewish ‘hood of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.  He also helps out at the family laundromat, though he’s not very interested in his work; photography is his passion.  Though Leonard takes medication, we don’t know his exact illness.

One night, Michael Cohen, the man who’s going to buy the Kraditor’s business, comes over for dinner with his family.  When they are left alone, the elegant/single daughter, Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), confesses that she wanted to meet Leonard.  When she explains that she works for Pfizer, Leonard jokes that he “knows all about that.”  Sandra admires his photos; we can also tell that she’s very interested in him.  She comes across as a capable woman who could take care of the sensitive Leonard.

Leonard also happens upon his  new neighbor Michelle (Gwenyth Paltrow), who ducks into his place to escape the rebuke of her angry father.  What was he mad about?  It turns out that Michelle has an older, married lover (played by Elias Koteas).  Though we (and his observant mom, played by Isabella Rosselini) can see that Leonard has an instant crush on her, Michelle quickly comes to rely upon him.  It turns out that Michelle need a good friend- she’s battling tremendous insecurity and a drug habit.  When she calls or texts, Leonard goes running.

Leonard, Sandra, and even the troubled/rootless Michelle, will seem quite real to viewers.  They are not stereotypical Hollywood versions of people.  Often, the demons within us are worse that those found in the outside world.  We have to choose to be happy, as my mom says.

“Hamlet” (2009)

EmmaLeave a comment

A hit, a hit, a palpable hit!  The Bard’s most popular, and arguably best-written, play springs to life w/ a fresh, modern adaptation by the RSC.  (It is now available on DVD in the US.)  This one is a must-see for all Shakespeare fans!  Tall, wiry Scotsman David Tennant (Dr. Who) tackles the title role and theater veteran Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation) portrays the ghost of Hamlet’s departed father and Claudius (Hamlet’s “uncle-father”).  They played these roles on stage, so are well prepared for the screen version.

Hamlet (sometimes in a single scene) must be able to convey much- anger, intelligence, melancholy, and wit.  Tennant creates a Hamlet for our time;  he shows us Hamlet’s isolation, emotional torment, confusion, and self-awareness.  I feel Tennant does a GREAT job in showing us Hamlet’s muti-faceted personality.

Unlike in the theater, here we get close-ups of the actors.  Hamlet can connect more deeply with the audience (a glance into the camera, a side joke).  The use of a pistol in a pivotal scene rendered the scene less dramatic in my opinion.  The dark main set didn’t appeal to me, but the use of the large broken mirror was a good directorial choice.  The use of surveillance cameras was interesting; Hamlet is always under watch.

On to the supporting cast…  Claudius is played with grace and subtlety by Stewart; often villains pretend to be just like ordinary people.   I thought he was VERY effective as the ghost as well.  Polonius and Gertrude did a fine job, as did Horatio (who had a sense of gravitas and a marvelous speaking voice).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYZHb2xo0OI

“The Pacific” (Parts 4-10)

EmmaLeave a comment

Part 4

Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale) sees one Marine shoot himself in the head, unable to take the rain, jungle, fighting, and mental pressure.  He gets a bladder problem and is sent to spend some time recuperating at a hospital facility on a nearby island.  Leckie, who’s family has a history of mental illness, is unsettled when he sees men with psychiatric problems at the facility.

He’s surprised to see Hanson (a man from his unit) when he asks for a smoke.  Hanson is put in a solitary cell away from the other beds.  The shrink explains that Hanson tried to run away and kill himself twice on the battlefield.  He needs to be out of the fighting.  “But most men you see here are just tired.  They just need a week or two to recuperate.”

 

Part 5

Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello) and Sidney Phillips (Ashton Holmes) are very happy/excited to see each other while at camp.  When Sledge asks about how the war was for Phillips, he explains that “there’s no way to describe it.”  When Sledge goes to the library tent to pick out a book to read, he has a chat with Leckie.  (I think some of the books are from Leckie’s own collection.)  When Sledge picks up the Bible, Leckie comments that he doesn’t believe in religion anymore.  “What do you believe in?” Sledge asks quietly.  “I believe in ammunition,” Leckie responds with a wry smile.  It turns out that Sledge doesn’t need the book, as he carries a tiny Bible in his pocket.

Back in the US, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone (Jon Seda) is staying at the Biltmore and spending time with a blonde actress.  His actions are depicted in comic books- he’s famous.  His older brother (also a Marine) comes to visit him at the hotel.

So far, this is the most visually stunning, frightening, and engaging ep of the series!  The viewer follows the teenage Sledge as he storms the beach at Peleliu, where the Marines faced some of the most dangerous fighting of the war.  He prays under his breath and his eyes fill with fear as men are blown up around him.  Sledge struggles to cross the beach, amid dead bodies, explosions, etc.  Simply riveting episode!

 

Part 6

Phillips (Sledge’s good friend/neighbor) goes home to Mobile, Alabama and meets with Sledge’s parents.  He says some consoling words to them, concluding that “He’s w/ a great bunch of guys.  I’m not worried for Eugene.”  “Mortar men” like him and Eugene are generally behind the most dangerous action, he explains.  However, Phillips’ eyes are heavy w/ concern.

Back on Peleliu, the men want one thing- water.  They find a poisoned pond.  They face tremendous fighting, but Sledge comes through it.  He even pulls up a fellow Marine, Merriell Shelton (Rami Malek) and assists him to cross a field.  When he admits that he’s “never been that scared in his life,” Captain Haldane comments that “Anyone who says he isn’t scared out here is either lying or dead.”  He earns the nickname “Sledgehammer” from the fellow he helped.

 

While lying in wait one night, a Marine has a terible nightmare and keeps screaming in his sleep.  The Japanese will hear them.  Two or three other guys nearby try to hold the disturbed man down to quiet him, but it doesn’t work.  Finally, one guy hits him w/ a shovel.  In the morning, he lies dead.  Shelton says: “Better him than us.”

Leckie, who has been wounded, meets with an old friend from an earlier battle, as they head away from the Pacific on a US carrier.

 

Part 7

The airfield on Peleliu was taken after 3 days.  But the Japanese weren’t going to give up.  There was an intricate system (w/ about 500 caves) on the island where they were hiding.  “The enemy was ruthless.  We were doing to have to dig them out one by one,” one WWII veteran said.  They were 30 days of heavy fighting w/ many Marines killed or wounded.

One night, Sledge shoots two men, thinking they are Japanese.  But in the morning, he realizes that one was an enemy soldier, but the other was a fellow Marine who’d gotten out of his foxhole.  An older Marine is very angry that this happened; they’re not allowed out at night from their foxholes.

Sledge hears some noise coming from a bunker that was said to be cleared by the 1st Division.  When the men go to check it out, they realize several Japanese are hiding inside.  They shoot, throw grenades, and bomb the bunker.  One Marine beside Sledge may be blinded by the impact from an enemy grenade.   Sledge kills one young enemy soldier w/ his bayonet when the man runs toward him.  He is a little stunned by what he has done.  The nest day, his Capt. Haldane says: “You can’t dwell on it- not any of it.”

A tough, older Marine is scared and unable to move after a sudden and terrible attack.  The younger men are surprised that “someone like him can break.”  Sledge hugs and consoles a fellow Marine when he breaks down in tears in the middle of the night.

The captain has been killed, Sledge and his men learn while on a patrol one sunny day.  As Haldane’s body comes by on a stretcher, several men have tears in their eyes.  Sledge is full of anger, and thinks about taking out a dead enemy’s gold teeth (as Shelton had done earlier).  But he takes off the insignia instead, crying at the loss of the captain who encouraged/motivated him when he needed it the most.

Sledge and the other Marines are stunned to see some pretty/young nurses handing out cups of lemonade when they finally reach camp.  They take a long-needed bath in the ocean.

 

Part 8

Peleliu was taken by the US, but  many people didn’t know about the horrible fighting that occurred there.  General MacArthur didn’t use that island for any future operations.     

Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone, who’s been selling war bonds for over one year, asks to train the new Marines.  His commander says: “You make me proud to be a Marine, son.”  (Basilone’s enlistment will soon be up, and he wants to make an impact before that.)

When he arrives at Camp Pendleton, Basilone is struck by a beautiful dark-haired nurse, Lena (Annie Parisse).  It turns out that Lina is also Italian and a Marine (there are 3 stripes the arm of her white uniform).  Unlike the young Marines and other nurses, Lena is not automatically impressed by Basilone (“the hero of Guadalcanal”) when he asks her for a dinner date.  She knows about his penchant for starlets.

But John keeps on trying and she invites him to have breakfast very early (before her KP duty begins).  B/c of this, he wakes the men up at 3:30AM for a 10K run- LOL!  Lena makes coffee and French toast in the mess and they talk about food, family, and their love of Marine life.  You can see John falling in love; Lena is intrugued my him.  “It’s amazing what can happen over a cup of coffee,” John comments.

John and Lena talk, spend time at the beach, and fall deeply in love.  Though he has re-enlisted, she agrees to marry him.  They marry in a little church near Camp Pendleton.  During their honeymoon, John says that he wants six kids.  Lena gives him her little gold cross necklace that she always wore around her neck.

Basilone enters the battle at Iwo Jima alongside the Marines he trained.  “If you want to live, get off the beach!” he shouts to those men who are falling behind.  The men watch in awe as he runs, bobs, and weaves away from danger.  Suddenly, Basilone is hit directly in the chest, and falls down.  His fellows watch with wide/disbelieving eyes as their hero dies.

Part 9

This ep may be difficult to watch for some viewers.  Sledge, Shelton, and their fellow Marines are having a terrible time on Iwo Jima.  There is thick mud everywhere.  They have to dig trenches around dead bodies.  The Japanese will not surrender, so they have to be dug out.

Sledge is angered when a belligerant Japanese prisoner gets in his way.  He shoves the man away and gets a reprimand from an intelligence officer.  At another point, he comtemplates pulling out a dead Japanese soldier’s teeth (as Shelton had done before).  Shelton, surprised to see Sledge behaving in such a way, talks him out of it.  “They have bad diseases,” he says.

In one touching scene, Sledge finds an elderly Japanese woman who is mortally wounded.  She gestures to him to come and touches the barrel of his rifle.  Sledge is unable to shoot her (to end her miser); he puts down his weapon and gently cradles her in his arms.  She dies soon after.

When it seems like they can’t take it anymore, the Marines hear that “some big new weapon” has ended the war in the Pacific.  The Japanese surrendered.  Sledge, Shelton, and their division stay behind to “clean up the mess.”

Part 10

Six months after D-Day, Sledge, Shelton, and another Marine travel on a train across the South.  One man gets off in a small, dusty Texas town.  He’s waiting for his Australian girlfriend to come and marry him.  Shelton gets off in bustling New Orleans quietly, as Sledge is fast asleep.  Finally, Eugene reaches Mobile (where he is greeted by best friend Sidney).

Sidney is now engaged to one of the prettiest girls of their circle.  Eugene’s older brother (who fought in Europe) is also back safe and a married man.  He’s surprised to hear that Eugene went through the whole war w/o losing his virginity.  “There weren’t any women where I was,” he replies.  “Except nurses- and they were off-limits.”  But if Eugene goes out to in his uniform, he can get any girl, his brother says.  “No, I don’t think I’ll ever wear an uniform again,” Eugene concludes.

Leckie goes home to his parents small house in suburban New Jersey.  He gets his old job (local sports writer) back at the North Bergen County Register (w/ a $7 raise).  While typing away one night, he hears his neighbor Vera coming home from a date.  Bob’s still interested in her, though she never showed interest in him while they were growing up.  He gets into his dress blue uniform and goes over to her house to ask her out (w/ some subtle encouragement from his mother).  When Vera accepts a date for the next night with Bob, the officer gets jealous and drives off in his fancy car.

Bob takes Vera to a nice local restaurant, but he’s nervous.  He can’t keep from looking at her pretty face.  She says “you’re doing fine.”  Vera asks why he wants to spend time with her; Bob replies it’s b/c she’s someone he knows.  “You don’t really know me, Bob,” Vera corrects him with a smile.

What happened to all those letters he wrote to her about the war?  Bob explains that he never sent them. “To be honest, I never thought I’d make it.”  The words were eventually washed away with the rains, but they were “the best stuff I ever wrote,” he says.

Lena goes to Raritan, New Jersey to see the Basilone family for the first time.  Mr. Basilone compliments her in Italian.  John’s brother asks about how she’s doing.  It turns out that Lena won’t get a widow’s pension ($10,000) b/c John forgot to sign the required papers.  But she’s okay with that; she’ll continue working in the Marines.  She presents a box (w/ John’s medal inside) to his father.   Lena and Mrs. Basilone share tears and hugs.

Early one morning, while out with his father, Eugene puts down his hunting rifle and breaks down in tears.  “I’m sorry,” he says.  His father says it’s okay; they don’t have to shoot doves.  He embraces his son, says “You never have to apologize to me, Eugene.”

Eugene doesn’t feel much in a dancing mood when he goes to a party at Sidney’s house.  Sidney understands and gives him space.  When Eugene tries to enroll at a local university, all he gets are inane questions.  He spends time doing nothing for a while.  This worries his mother, but his father understands.  “You don’t know what men like him went through over there.  Just let him be for a while.”

At the end of the ep (last of series), we get to see pics of the real Marines and what happened to them after WWII.  The casting directors did a GREAT job in matching up the actual individuals w/ actors!

Well, I wanted to see this series when I heard Jon Seda (above left) was in it.  His Latin looks (he’s Puerto Rican), easy-going confidence, and charisma were BIG assets in portraying the almost larger-than-life John Basilone.  Another asset- Seda’a ability for subtlety (even when playing men that the audience has preconcieved notions about).  As some critics have commented, Seda actually looks younger and fitter than in his earlier roles!

The character I most identified with was Robert Leckie, played superbly by James Badge Dale.  In real life, Leckie wrote over 40 books- WOW!  Leckie, in my opinion, is the volunteer who has NO CLUE what he’s going into.  When he joins up, it seems like he’s going in for the experience.  He says he wants to write about it.  Also, Leckie doesn’t have a lot of confidence in himself, so he uses humor.  But he’s also a smart, observant, and sensitive guy.

In real life, Eugene Sledge was better known as the soft-spoken biology professor who retired in 1990 from the University of Montevallo.  “He didn’t fit any of the (military) stereotypes,” said one of his sons, John Sledge of Mobile. “He was gentle, scholarly, loved birdwatching.  He didn’t care about golf, football, NASCAR, and watched almost no TV.  He was a great reader who listened to Mozart … and learned the classical guitar.”  -The Birmingham News

The viewer is instantly empathetic towards Eugene (played w/ ease and quiet dignity by former child actor, Joe Mazzello).   Eugene is lanky, baby-faced, sheltered, and has a (potentially deadly) heart murmer.  In a few scenes, it looks like he might crack under pressure.  But he comes through it w/ help from his fellow Marines (who become his friends).

Unlike Band of Brothers, this series focused more time on fewer characters.  It also brought in more personal stuff- family, romance, life after war.  I liked this approach, and wish there had been more personal development in Band of Brothers.  The action in The Pacific seemed more in your face (and scarier), though I think the earlier series had MORE fights.  All the minor characters, including some respected veteran actors, did great.  Watch this series- it’s great TV!

My 1st Broadway play!!!

Emma2 Comments

That’s my first love- the theater.  –Denzel Washington 

INTRODUCTION

This past Saturday, I went to NYC to see my first Broadway play, the Pulitzer Prize winning Fences by August Wilson.  Fences is part of Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle, a collection of ten plays.  Each drama explores a different decade in the 20th century, and each examines the lives and struggles of African Americans.  The 13-week limited engagement of Fences is at the Cort Theater (138 W. 48th St. btwn 6th Ave & Bdwy).

Playwright August Wilson

Fences is a powerful family drama set in the late ’50s starring Denzel Washington (twice an Oscar winner) and Viola Davis (recent Oscar nominee).  This is a character-driven story with one simple set (action takes place on the front porch of a humble little house).  I was lucky enough to get a ticket for the 9th row (close to stage). Once I got over the “Wow, I’m seeing Denzel in person!” feeling, I really got involved in the play.  The (diverse) audience enjoyed it very much, too.  We laughed, we got teary-eyed, and… WE SAW DENZEL!!!

Denzel Washington (Troy)

At one point, Denzel’s character enumerated all that he had to give before exiting the stage.  One elderly woman called out: “I’ll take it!”  LOL!  And yes, he is JUST as handsome up close as onscreen. 

As expected, Denzel stopped traffic in front of the theater for some minutes while people hovered about seeking pictures or just a glimpse before the limos set off.   Unfortunately, he didn’t stay for autographs, but I noticed the young actor who played his son (Chris Chalk) signing playbills.

PREMISE

At the start of the play, Troy Maxon (Denzel Washington) is a 53 yr. old former Negro League baseball player who hauls trash in the Hill District of Pittsburgh w/ his best pal Jim Bono (actor/theater educator Stephen McKinley Henderson).  Troy lives in an old house w/ his 2nd wife Rose (Viola Davis) and their 17 y.o. son Cory (Chris Chalk).   Though Troy is illiterate, he is a hard-worker hoping to get a promotion.  Troy and Rose seem to have a solid (yet passionate) relationship after 18 yrs. together.  Cory works at the A&P (grocery store), but hopes to attend college on a football scholarship.

Viola Davis (Rose)

When Lyons (Russell Hornsby), Troy’s 34 y.o. son from a previous marriage, drops by on a FRI (payday) to ask for $10, Troy is NOT too amused.  He tells Lyons that he’s a married man now, and needs to take care of himself and his wife.  (Lyons’ wife works as a laundress, though she has trained as a nurse.)  Troy advises him to “learn a trade,” but Lyons insists that he’ll stick to music.  “I’m not like the rest of you- I’m a musician,” Lyons says with bravado.  Rose and Bono persuade Troy, and he grudgingly allows Rose to loan out the $10.  (Rose, a practical AND caring woman, is the keeper of the family purse.)  As Lyons picks up his horn to leave, the disappointment is evident on Troy’s face.  “He’ll be back,” Troy concludes.

While Lyons was visiting, Troy’s younger brother Gabe (Mykelti Williamson) dropped by.  Gabe, a WWII vet, has a “metal plate in his head” and is now mentally handicapped.  We learn that the Maxon house was bought w/ money from Gabe’s veteran’s benefits.  But Gabe recently moved out of the house to live in a boarding house.  “I got two rooms!” he enthusiastically tells Rose.  Gabe sells fruit in the neighborhood to earn a bit of money for his room/board.  

Though Rose is patient/kind with Gabe, his presence is an irritation to Troy.  “I done everything I can for the boy,” Troy exclaims w/ exasperation when Rose worries about Gabe’s health/habits.  Being in the hospital wasn’t right for Gabe, Troy rationalizes, b/c “what did he go over there and get his head blown off for” (if he can’t have freedom).

Troy has been waiting for Cory to help him finish the fence around the yard.  But Cory has been practicing football after school.  Cory announces to his parents a recruiter is coming to see him soon, and needs his Troy’s signature to sign him up (to play for a college in North Carolina).  Rose is very proud of her son, but Troy is skeptical.

Chris Chalk (Cory)

We learn that Troy has gotten a position as a driver, so he won’t be working in the back of the garbage truck w/ Bono anymore.  (Driving positions usually went to white men.)  When Bono points out that Troy can’t drive yet, Troy shoots back: “Everyone doesn’t gotta know my business!”  He’ll learn how to drive before it’s time for him to take up the new position.  Lyons comes by w/ good news- he has a steady gig at a good club.  Troy’s surprised when Lyons offers to give him back the $10 he borrowed.   When he invites his father to come hear him, Troy refuses by saying “I’m too old to be going to clubs.”           

Cory is desperate for his father to understand; he names different athletes (including blacks and Jews) who have excelled in baseball.  Troy bitterly tells Cory that he’s more stupid than he thought, and that there’s no future in sports for a black man.  Troy is enraged when Cory tells him that he’s quit his job at the A&P to concentrate on football.  Father and son square-off, and it looks like they will come to blows!

To learn what happens, go read (or see) the play! 

 

THEMES

Baseball is one of the themes of the play.  On stage right, a ball of rags is tied to a branch.  Both Troy and Cory practice swinging at the ball at the start of the play.  Later on, when the father and son argue, the bat will be turned on Troy – though Troy will ultimately win in that confrontation.  At the end of Act One, he warns his son: “You swung and you missed. That’s strike one. Don’t you strike out!”

Troy was a great baseball player, at least according to his friend Bono.  Although he played for the Negro Leagues, he was not allowed to on the white teams.   The success of Jackie  Robinson and other black players is a touchy subject for Troy.  He never earned the recognition or the money which he felt he deserved – and discussion of professional sports will often send him into a tirade.  Though Rose insists that “you were too old,” Troy feels it was solely racism that kept him shut-out.

During Act Two of Fences,  he uses a baseball metaphor to explain why he had an affair:

I fooled them, Rose.  I bunted.  When I found you and Cory and a halfway decent job . . . I was safe.  Couldn’t nothing touch me. I wasn’t gonna strike out no more.  I wasn’t going back to the penitentiary.  I wasn’t gonna lay in the streets with a bottle of wine.  I was safe.  I had me a family.  A job.  I wasn’t gonna get that last strike.  I was on first looking for one of them boys to knock me in.  To get me home.  …then when I saw that gal . . . she firmed up my backbone.  And I got to thinking that if I tried . . . I just might be able to steal second.  Do you understand after eighteen years I wanted to steal second?

Father-son relationships are very crucial in Fences.  On the stage, the emotionally strained relationship between Troy (who’s based on August Wilson’s stepdad) and Cory is highlighted.  At one point, Corey asks “Why don’t you like me?”  Troy is amused by this question, and retorts w/ “I don’t have to like you!”  Troy goes on to say that he gives his son food, a roof over his head, and provides for his life.  But Cory wants more from his father, but Troy is incapable of expressing that.     

But the unseen relationship of the play is the one between Troy and his father, who was a sharecropper in early 20th century Alabama.  Troy reveals secrets from his youth to Bono and Lyons in one (quietly powerful) scene.  After noting some of his father’s brutish behavior, Troy (who fled from home at 14) flatly calls him “The Devil.”  (Denzel really shines in this scene!) 

Freedom is another theme in Fences.  Several times Troy exclaims that he “needs to be free.”  But from what?  To the audience, he seems to have a lot going for him (at the opening of the play).  He has a supportive wife, talented sons, and a loyal best friend.  He’s struggling to make ends meet, but he’s NOT alone.  Everyone in the community is (of course) dealing w/ ingrained racism.  

As Troy’s character is revealed, we realize that he can NEVER be free of the one man he hates- his father.  Though Troy says he doesn’t behave like his old man, Troy is very hard on Cory.  When Cory gets angry and obstinate, Rose says w/ frustration: “You’re just like him!”  Perhaps we can never be free of our past, parents, and mistakes- they make up our character.     

THE ACTING

With such a stellar cast, the acting could NOT be anything but top-notch!  Denzel hit JUST the right notes w/ his role; he made Troy a believable (yet flawed) character.  With this type of character, some actors could go over-the-top, but Denzel keeps it grounded.  Troy is a complicated man, though HE would never admit to that.  He is charming, funny, sarcastic, hard-headed, etc. just like all of us.  But he DOES NOT analyze his actions; that’s just NOT his way.

Viola Davis’ role grows as the play goes on.  She does a terrific job in portraying Rose, a woman of great character and integrity.  We sense that Rose could’ve done much better for herself, given her sensibility and sensitivity, but she stuck with Troy out of love/passion/loyalty.  She invested a lot in their relationship, and is DEEPLY hurt when it breaks.  But, above all, Rose is a survivor, and Viola Davis suits this role to a tee.  There is no sense of acting.      

Related Links

Official site (w/ a GREAT NYT video interview)

http://www.fencesonbroadway.com./index.html

Denzel finds his “voice” in Fences

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126195963

About playwright August Wilson:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Wilson

2 short interviews w/ Denzel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKsDRcuePnk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edtA7NapVKY

“Onegin” (1999)

EmmaLeave a comment

I bought this DVD because I heard Toby Stephens played a good role in it; I had never seen it before last week.  This film is very smart, subtle, touching, and thought-provoking.  It is based on the novel by Alexander Pushkin.  It was directed by Martha Fiennes (Ralph’s sister) and has some creative/unusual shots.  The cinematography is simple gorgeous, as are the locations, sets and costumes (which make the actors stand up straighter and creates elegant lines).

Eugene Onegin (Fiennes) is a wealthy playboy from St. Petersburg, Russia.  He is bored with his urban life: costly mistress, social obligations, and frivolous friends.  Onegin inherits a huge country estate after his elderly uncle dies, and he ventures out of the city to have a look at the place.

Onegin, the brooding/pessimistic aristocrat, makes friends with Lensky (Toby Stephens), an optimistic/energetic/naive country gent with dreams of becoming a poet.  Though the men are polar opposites, they are both well-educated and neighbors.  Lensky has long been in love with Olga (Lena Headey), a conventional girl who dreams of city life.  But Olga’s younger sister Tatyana (Liv Tyler) is the girl who intrigues Onegin.

It is soon obvious that the impressionable Tatyana has fallen in love with Onegin, or in love with who she thinks he is.  She borrows books from his library, and expresses modern opinions (much to the changrin of her widowed mother).  One night, Tatyana pores out her heart in a letter to Onegin, unable to keep her feelings boxed up (as social convention dictates).  How will the seemingly cool-headed Onegin react?  Can he return her feelings?  Watch to find out!

Ralph Fiennes, an internal actor, quickly disappears into his role of the dissatisfied Onegin.  Toby Stephens provides a refreshing counterbalance to Onegin.  Liv Tyler gives a terrific performance, proving that some actors don’t need to study for years to create fine characters.  They just have the “it” factor!

A clip from Onegin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvr-iemGsyE

More about the movie:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119079/

About the book Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Onegin