Vanya
on 42nd Street (1994)
This is the play for me, "Uncle Vanya." I can hardly
wait to see more works by Chekov. Of course, this film
is made all the better by an outstanding cast, a wonderfully
stark setting brought forth by a marvellous director
and a fantastic script translation by David Mamet.
The genesis for the film came from a group of actors
performing the piece wherever they could find space.
Louis Malle, the reputable director, happened to see
the piece, as Wallace Shawn who was in his "My Dinner
with Andre" was playing Uncle Vanya. Malle decided right
then and there he wanted to film the piece.
"Vanya on 42nd Street" is minimalist filmmaking at
it's finest. It suits Chekov's piece well. The characters
meet on the street and go into a large abandoned theater.
The begin to talk about this and that and before we
even know it, they are into the film. It's magical.
There are no costumes, few props and no sets really.
It's simply the actors as the characters and the magnificent
words.
"Uncle Vanya" is one of Chekov's acclaimed "indirect
action" plays. Here, it is the words that make the piece.
Mamet's characters may speak in relaxed modern speech
but there is an air of authenticity about it all. Not
much is changed, it seems, in the piece. The ideas and
thoughts that are presented. The non-action and the
ennui of the piece can become tiring but it's all in
presenting the theme of the piece. In the work, a whole
farming estate comes to a stop when it's owner visits
with his young wife and their sense of restlessness
overtake the place.
There are those who criticize this piece because of
Shawn's appearance as Vanya. They find him to whimpy
and whiny for the piece. I found him compelling. His
wretched existence seems quite obvious to me. His ability
to play off of all the others in the cast is quite wonderful.
Everyone in the piece is quite nice. Julianne Moore
plays the young wife with just the right amount of sensuality
and boredom. George Gaynes does a wonderful job of distancing
himself from the rest of the cast even in the beginning
sequences. Larry Pine, who has never had a chance to
shine on screen really, is marvellous here. It's perfect
that his voice is so mellifluous and this is discusses
as part of the plot. Pine is perfectly cast and acts
wonderfully spouting idle idealism at the beginning
before being drawn into the non-action of those around
him. Finally, Brooke Smith spends much of the film as
a secondary character until her final moment which wraps
up the film. The speech she gives in the final few minutes
of the piece is so masterfully done it crystalizes all
we have witnessed.
"Vanya of 42nd Street" will bore most people to tears.
It is slow moving to the point of being almost sedentary.
But there is something intrinsically interesting in
watching the action and the characters ever so slowly
unravel in front of us. It's beautiful... in the way
that watching a piece of fruit decay is interesting.
Note:
Andre Gregory, who acted as the stage director for
the piece, plays himself here although he has few lines.
The piece has no score although it is bookended by
jazz pieces by Joshua Redmon.
Filmed at the New Amsterdam Theater in NYC.
This is the 5 or 6th times the play has been put on
film.
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