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Film and the Arts
Off-Broadway Review—New Musical “The Visitor” with David Hyde Pierce
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Monday, 15 November 2021 23:17
- Written by Kevin Filipski
The Visitor
Music by Tom Kitt
Book by Kwami Kwei-Armah and Brian Yorkey; lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Directed by Daniel Sullivan
Performances through December 5, 2021
Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, NY
publictheater.org
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| David Hyde Pierce and Ahmed Maksoud in The Visitor |
Based on Tom McCarthy’s 2007 film—a nicely observed character study about a widower whose personal and professional malaise is partly mitigated by an unlikely friendship with an undocumented couple—the new musical The Visitor doesn’t find enough compelling reasons to embellish its characters and their stories with songs.
The Visitor follows Walter who, bored of the dull class in economics he’s teaching, returns to his long-vacant New York apartment to prepare to present a colleague’s paper at a conference. He finds Zainab, a young Senegalese woman, and Tarek, her Syrian boyfriend, living there. Taking pity on them since they don’t have another place to go to, he lets them stay, and after Tarek is arrested and thrown into a detention center after jumping the subway turnstile, Walter finds his power of purpose by advocating for his friends while meeting Tarek’s widowed mother, who arrives from Michigan to be closer to her son.
Of course, the movie also contains music, in the form of Walter’s late wife, a concert pianist whose CD is played, along with Tarek, who plays the African drum that he teaches Walter to play. For the musical, composer Tom Kitt embraces the drum, mirroring the movie’s scenes of Walter starting to get his groove back, literally and figuratively, through his playing, starting when he joins in on a joyful drum circle in the park.
The musical follows the movie fairly closely yet lacks the internal logic of McCarthy’s sharply drawn characters who try to overcome their racial and cultural differences and find a way to mutual understanding. Instead, the book by Kwami Kwei-Armah and Brian Yorkey shaves off the film’s rough edges to concentrate on Tarek and others’ detention to make obvious points about our country’s current immigration mess.
To be sure, the musical’s least effective scene—Walter self-righteously berating the guards after discovering that Tarek has been permanently deported—is also in the film, where it glaringly sticks out. Notwithstanding a couple of rousing ensemble numbers (notably the exuberant drum circle of Tarek and his cohorts, who play for, then with, Walter), Kitt’s music—as well as Yorkey’s lyrics—rarely furthers the characterizations or plot. A striking exception is Zaniab’s harrowing description of her journey, “Bound for America.”
Daniel Sullivan directs adroitly, the lyrical movements (or lack of such) of the various characters saying a lot more than the songs themselves do; ace choreographer Lorin Latarro deserves praise for that. David Zinn’s simple but effective scenic designs are set off by Japhy Weideman’s lighting, which performs sundry visual wonders, particularly in “Lady Liberty,” a quiet moment of solidarity—which is not in the movie—between Zainab and Mouna.
Keeping The Visitor from becoming too pedantic are Ahmad Maksoud’s charming Tarek, Alysha Deslorieux’s appealing Zainab and Jacqueline Antaramian’s tender Mouna. And, as Walter, David Hyde Pierce performs with his usual wry understatement, which fits as snugly as Richard Jenkins’ Oscar-nominated performance in the movie.
Philadelphia Orchestra Performs Classics & Contemporary at Carnegie
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- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Thursday, 11 November 2021 15:33
- Written by Jack Angstreich
Philadelphia Orchestra with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, photo by Pete Checchia
On the evening of Tuesday, November 9th at Carnegie Hall, I had the great privilege to again hear the superb Philadelphia Orchestra, under the sterling direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in the latest, exciting installment of their impressive cycle this season of the complete symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven.
The program began beautifully with a marvelous account of the undervalued Eighth Symphony. The opening Allegro vivace was brisk, ebullient and sometimes suspenseful. More irrepressible was the Haydnesque wit of the second movement, while the third was lilting in its dance-like rhythms, leading into a spirited, indeed exuberant, finale.
The excellent Fate Now Conquers by contemporary composer Carlos Simon—which cites Beethoven’s Fourth and Seventh Symphonies and is notable for its accomplished orchestration—served as a compelling interlude between the two major works of the concert, the second of which was that extraordinary Seventh Symphony, splendidly realized here. Nézet-Séguin and the musicians effectively struck a note of grandeur the introduction preceding the exultant, Vivace main body of the opening movement. The justly celebrated Allegretto that followed was magisterial succeeded by a Scherzo with arresting Presto sections alternating with enchanting Trio passages, concluding with a triumphant Allegro con brio finale. I eagerly look forward to the next program in the series on December 7th.
November '21 Digital Week II
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Wednesday, 10 November 2021 21:06
- Written by Kevin Filipski
Blu-ray Releases of the Week
The Last of Sheila
(Warner Archive)
One of the most entertaining murder mystery-puzzles this side of Agatha Christie, Herbert Ross’ hilariously cynical 1973 comic thriller casts a jaundiced eye on the slickness and cynicism of Hollywood courtesy of Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins’ diabolically clever script, which keeps pulling the rug out from under its nasty characters—and viewers. (Admittedly, it cheats: the pivotal Polaroid we are shown is not the same photo that we actually see taken.)
Dyan Cannon is outstanding as a bitchy agent, James Coburn terrifically nasty as the widow who sets the murderous games in motion, Richard Benjamin (never a favorite of mine) perfect as a second-rate writer, James Mason a suavely has-been director, and the late, lamented Joan Hackett as a sympathetically pathetic writer’s wife. Oh yes: and Raquel Welch has never looked better. The hi-def transfer is terrific; lone extra is a Cannon, Benjamin and Welch commentary.
(Warner Bros)
Wherein this band of superheroes not ready for big-screen spinoffs continue their fantastical adventures this season, contending with one of their own being abducted by aliens alongside run-ins with historical characters from David Bowie and Amelia Earhart to JFK and Spartacus.
That tells you all you need to know about a show that doesn’t take itself seriously, and its fans will watch and enjoy without any qualms. The season’s 15 episodes look superb in hi-def; extras include featurettes, deleted scenes and a gag reel.
Fury
(Warner Archive)
Even though it now seems too simplistic, Fritz Lang’s 1936 study of an unruly mob’s attempt to lynch an innocent man (Spencer Tracy) for a crime for which he’s being held in a local jail is still an effective piece of agit-prop, notwithstanding the obviousness and—pardon the pun—black and white point of view.
Tracy rages brilliantly, Sylvia Sidney is his empathetic girlfriend, and Lang’s solid direction makes points a more subtle approach would have missed. There’s an excellent hi-def transfer; lone extra is a Peter Bogdanovich commentrary with Lang comments strewn about.
(Warner Bros)
In this clever reboot of the classic ‘70s network TV series starring David Carradine, Nicky returns home to her San Francisco neighborhood after three years in a monastery in a remote area of China, only to find her parents and many others frightened of the mobster who runs things his way—soon she is doling out punishment, aided by friends and family members.
Led by the charming Olivia Liang as Nicky—and with noteworthy support from Shannon Dang as her sister Althea and Tan Kheng Hua as their mother—the series has a momentum that doesn’t let up for its debut season’s 13 episodes. It looks fantastic on Blu; extras are a making-of featurette and deleted scenes.
Ladies They Talk About
(Warner Archive)
In this singleminded 1933 crime drama, Barbara Stanwyck plays an accomplice to a bank robbery thrown in prison where she blends in with the hardened criminals while finding that a loud-mouthed preacher loves her.
Blunt and unsentimental in its depiction of jailed women, Howard Bretherton and William Keighley’s film nevertheless leans toward melodramatics, especially in its cringy “happy” ending. There’s a first-rate hi-def transfer; lone extra is a vintage cartoon, I Like Mountain Music.
(PBS)
Ken Burns, along with his daughter Sarah Burns and her husband David McMahon, has created another thorough documentary, this one about boxer Muhammad Ali, who as Cassius Clay became a great boxer then, after his infamous name change, became one of the most famous celebrities of the 20th century.
Burns and company show, however, that he was so much more: an icon of race, of culture, of sports, of politics, of religion, and of boxing. But he was also more than the sum of those parts, which the most vivid image of the entire four hours of new/archival interviews and classic boxing footage painfully and sadly shows: made wobbly by Parkinson’s, Ali proudly holds the torch at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The Blu-ray image is quite good; surprisingly, there aren’t any director interviews.
Reminiscence
(Warner Bros)
With this unsuccessful cross between Waterworld and Westworld set in water-logged Miami and New Orleans in the near-future, writer-director Lisa Joy certainly doesn’t lack ambition telling the story of Nick (Hugh Jackman) and his partner Watts (Thandiwe Newton) helping clients “find” their lost memories—but when attractive client Mae, whom Nick began a relationship with, disappears, he dangerously relives his memories of their time together.
Too bad that the emotions Joy wants to highlight are swallowed up by the oppressive visuals depicting a climate-changed future and unsettling memories of Mae, which point toward a murder. The film looks fine on Blu; extras comprise several making-of featurettes.
(Cohen Media)
French director Anne Fontaine’s fiendish and witty update of Snow White reveals its intentions slowly but memorably as what starts as a fairy tale but soon traverses territory that keeps redefining itself—as well as its heroine, a young woman whose beauty and apparent innocence has seven (of course) men after her.
Although Isabelle Huppert gets top billing and is her usual amusing self as the wicked stepmother, Lou de Laâge steals this satisfying feminist take on self-empowerment as a smart, sassy Snow White—and Fontaine’s camera loves her, especially in this marvelous-looking hi-def transfer.
Who You Think I Am
(Cohen Media)
Juliette Binoche stars in director-writer Safy Nebbou’s banal twist on the rom-com, which does little with its intriguing premise of ghosting (in the 21st century tech sense).
Unfortunately, despite her usual elegance, Binoche can’t enliven Claire, a middle-aged professor who—after being unceremoniously dumped by her younger boyfriend—makes a fake Facebook account to spy on him and in the process destroys his innocent roommate’s life. An occasional scene works handily enough to suggest what might have been, but the film remains a torpid study of uninteresting people. It looks luminous on Blu; lone extra is a 36-minute making-of.
Sunken Roads—Three Generations After D-Day
(First Run)
Charlotte Juergens’s emotional documentary depicts her own journey to follow her late grandfather’s footsteps when he went ashore on D-Day in June 1944; while in France, she befriends other veterans who make European pilgrimages every five years and tells their tear-jerking stories.
There’s one, in which Don, an American vet in his 90s, has a lovely platonic relationship with Suzette, a French woman who may have met him in Normandy during the war while she was a child. Juergens creates an easy intimacy among these men and women, herself and the viewer, which keeps this humane exploration from turning maudlin.
Uppercase Print
(Big World Pictures)
As his other films—including his recent New York Film Festival entry, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn—have demonstrated, Romanian director Radu Jude mercilessly critiques the hypocrisy of government control, particularly the Romanian dictatorship of Ceaușescu, which ended with his death in 1989.
Here, Jude juxtaposes segments from a play about a teen whose 1981 anti-authoritarian graffiti was deemed so dangerous that the secret police mercilessly hounded him with archival segments displaying the crushing banality of life in a surveillance state—the result is vividly realized and thought-provoking.
Curiosa
(Film Movement)
After Portrait of a Lady on Fire and this, French actress Noemie Merlant may be typecast in erotic period pieces, but if she doesn’t mind, we shouldn’t either: she gives a complex portrayal of Marie de Heredia, who in late 19th century France engaged in a torrid and quite open affair with poet Pierre Louys under her husband Henri de Regnier’s nose.
Director-writer Lou Jeunet has created a multilayered drama about consenting adults who adhere to the principle that art is the highest calling and can excuse abominable personal behavior. Niels Schneider as Pierre and Benjamin Lavernhe as Henri also contribute handsomely to this cinematic menage a trois, but at its center is the riveting Merlant.
CD Releases of the Week
Steven Isserlis—Solo British Cello Works
(Hyperion)
British cellist Steven Isserlis is not only one of the most adventurous musicians around, he’s also a must-follow on Twitter (his tweets about his continued travails flying around the world with his trusty—but large—instrument are priceless). His musicmaking, however, is what concerns us here, and his latest recording is typically wide-ranging and superbly programmed.
Traversing the solo cello repertoire of his home country from the past century, Isserlis performs two major works, well-known (the third of Benjamin Britten’s astounding and intricate cello suites) and obscure (the vigorous and charming Suite in the eighteenth-century style by Frank Merrick), with shorter pieces by Britten, William Walton, John Gardner and—the lone 21st-century work—Thomas Adès making up the rest of the disc. Isserlis plays with authority and finesse throughout, making the solo cello sound as vast and varied as a symphony.
(ECM New Series)
Pairing the modern musical miniatures of Hungarian composer György Kurtág with Czech master Antonín Dvořák’s romantic-era Op. 97 string quintet, the Parker Quartet—with eminent violist Kim Kashkashian joining for the Dvořák—makes it sound like the most natural thing in the world.
The Kurtág pieces, Officium breve and Six moments musicaux, comprise several curt, short movements; Dvořák’s quintet, written while he was living in Iowa, of all places, in 1893, is drenched in elements of American musical rhythms and melodies. The formidable performances also generously allow space to breathe between the notes, especially those found in Kurtág’s uniquely spare style.
November '21 Digital Week I
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Wednesday, 03 November 2021 21:37
- Written by Kevin Filipski
4K/UHD Release of the Week
The Suicide Squad
(Warner Bros)
Since Suicide Squad—the 2016 version—flopped, this semi-reboot—with the definite article in the title—semi-resuscitates the franchise, as James Gunn’s bloated, jokey super-antihero epic occasionally scores with its flashy, action-filled camaraderie.
There’s a handful of chuckles to be had by none other than Sylvester Stallone as King Shark but, let’s face it, Harley Quinn—once again played by the magnetic Margot Robbie—is the only one of the squad who deserves her own franchise…which she has. The immaculate 4K image pops off the screen; the accompanying Blu-ray disc includes several extras: featurettes, interviews, deleted scenes, gag reel and director commentary (on both discs).
Only the Animals
(Cohen Media)
In Frederik Moll’s cynical and unpleasant crime drama, the death of a woman named Evelyn is the springboard to glimpses of the lives of five people she’s—mostly peripherally—connected to, from young Marion whom Evelyn has a brief affair with to farmer Michel who thinks he’s been flirting with Marion online to Michel’s wife Alice who’s carrying on an affair with another man, Joseph: he finds Evelyn’s body.
Moll adroitly moves among these people, but the utter contrivance of their relationships—I don’t know how much is in the underlying novel—make the film risible from the get-to, despite its self-seriousness and extremely capable acting, especially by Nadia Tereszkiewicz (Marion) and Laure Calamy (Alice).
Speer Goes to Hollywood
(Realworks LTD)
Using transcripts of interviews British writer Andrew Birkin had with Hitler’s favorite architect in 1971, when there was talk of a biopic (which was never made), director Vanessa Lapa has created a tantalizingly eye-opening documentary.
The arrogance and hypocrisy of Albert Speer (who only served 20 years in prison for being a large part of the Nazi war machine) is on full display as he almost gleefully recounts his importance in Hitler’s circle while simultaneously trying not to implicate himself. It’s a fascinating, if disgusting, balancing act that Lapa teases out expertly.
(Quiver)
This earnest dramatization of a tornado’s devastating effects on a small Oklahoma town works efficiently if blatantly, from the “before”—when many folks, even the most hardened, don’t take the warnings seriously, betting (hoping?) it’s another false alarm—to the “after,” when the area is all but obliterated and survivors must both fend for themselves and worry about their missing loved ones.
Director-writer Lindsay Gossling specializes in obviousness, but there are strong moments too, mainly provided by a cast that includes Paz Vega, Amy Smart and Thora Birch.
Blu-ray Releases of the Week
Children of the Damned
Eye of the Devil
(Warner Archive)
“Children,” the 1963 not-really-a-sequel to the classic “Village of the Damned,” is admirably understated as it follows several children who may or may not be from a superior alien race and the mainly clueless responses of various authority figures; too bad it’s never as thrilling or exciting as its predecessor.
Similarly, 1966’s “Eye of the Devil,” which posits David Niven as the latest ancestral pagan in his family’s chateau in an eerie precursor of “The Wicker Man,” has unnerving moments but doesn’t cohere satisfyingly, despite J. Lee Thompson’s lean direction. Both B&W films look wonderfully sharp in HD; “Village” includes screenwriter John Briley’s commentary.
(Warner Archive)
Based on the witty play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber, George Cukor’s 1933 cinematic version of the relationships among a group of Manhattan’s upper-crust—all invitees to a stylish bash that evening—has its static and stagy moments, but the cast is triumphant. Among a starry ensemble of John and Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Marie Dressler and Billie Burke, none other than Jean Harlow steals the show.
This is supreme B&W entertainment that looks spectacular in hi-def. Extras are the 1993 documentary Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell, hosted by Sharon Stone, and a related vintage short, Come to Dinner.
The Hidden Life of Trees
(Capelight/MPI)
German forester Peter Wohlleben is the focus of this illuminating documentary about how the natural world is more than just the “environment” that is always talked about but rarely understood.
Director Jorg Adolph has created a splendid portrait of Woglleben who understands trees and their “language” as well as the “wood wide web” alongside a beautifully-shot nature documentary whose astonishing visuals make an persuasive case for the mostly unknown complexities of the natural world. The images, unsurprisingly, look rightly dazzling in hi-def.
(Warner Archive)
In this 1933 pre-code melodrama, premarital sex and out-of-wedlock pregnancy are the outcomes of an affair between a female doctor—still handicapped professionally by her sex—and the man she has eyes for, even though he marries someone else.
At 72 minutes, no one can say this is padded, but its dramatic thinness is only partly compensated for by Kay Francis’ bravura lead performance. The B&W film looks exceptionally good on Blu.
DVD Releases of the Week
Sisters
(Distrib Films)
Writer-director Yamina Benguigui’s often trenchant study of a trio of French-Algerian sisters still dealing with the decades-old fallout of their father leaving France and returning to Algeria with their young brother is an unflinching exploration of family dysfunction triggered by outdated political and cultural traditions against women.
These women are powerfully enacted by ageless superstar Isabelle Adjani, tough-minded Maiwenn and forceful Rachida Brakni, who get to the heart of a fractured relationship that, after many years and thousands of miles, is difficult to heal.
(HBO)
The Tiger Woods saga—from the highs of his superstar status seemingly cemented while he was still an amateur golfer to the lows of his messy personal life (car wrecks, highly publicized affairs, divorce from his Nordic goddess wife) is recounted in thorough and even-handed fashion.
Interviews with many people who have been part of his life over the decades, from his first love in high school to fellow pros on the tour, but there’s a hole at the center of not having Tiger himself, even if he’s been interviewed enough to use dozens of clips interspersed throughout.
Walker—Complete 1st Season
(CBS/Paramount)
In this reboot of the ’90s series starring Chuck Norris, a longtime Ranger volunteers for a lengthy undercover operation after his beloved wife is murdered, and when he returns to discovers that he has to balance dealing with his estranged teenage daughter with his dangerous professional life.
While this isn’t designed to appeal to everyone—the cutesiness slathered onto the sentimentality is a bit much—this should do very nicely for fans of straightforward action and melodrama, anchored by Jared Padalecki as Walker and Lindsey Morgan as his new partner. All 18 episodes are on 5 discs; extras are featurettes, deleted scenes and a gag reel.
César Franck—Hulda
(Naxos)
Belgian composer César Franck (1822-90) was probably a more valuable teacher than composer: among his students were Vincent d'Indy, Ernest Chausson, Louis Vierne, Guillaume Lekeu and Henri Duparc. But Franck’s music, attractive if conventional, still holds interest, even if his opera output is barely heard.
Indeed, Hulda was never performed until after his death. It’s too bad, for—at least on the evidence of this excellent recording by Germany’s Freiburg Theatre—it makes a worthy addition to the Gallic stage repertoire, with a great title role for a first-rate soprano (Meagan Miller does the honors here).
Alfred Schnittke/Sergei Prokofiev
(Cleveland Orchestra)
Soviet composers whose works were written a half-century apart are featured on the latest recording by the Cleveland Orchestra, which has under conductor Franz Welser-Möst become a fearsome advocate for 20th and 21st century music. First, there’s the 1979 Concerto for Piano and Strings by Alfred Schnittke (1934-98), which effortlessly alternates between sheer bombast and utmost delicacy; pianist Yefim Bronfman is the formidable soloist.
The year 1925 saw the premiere of the Symphony No. 2 by Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953), a remarkable display of breakneck rhythms and brilliant orchestration, which Welser-Möst and the orchestra play with a controlled fury that harnesses the wild surges in Prokofiev’s always audacious score.
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