OLEANNA
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1994 Ben Hoffman
David Mamet, among the best of the current American playwrights, has adapted his two-character play by writing the screenplay and directing the film, a story of sexual harassment. Mamet maintains there are two sides to every story.
His play was written and completed shortly before University of Oklahoma law professor, Anita Hill, testified to a Congressional committee that Supreme Court nominee, Clarence Thomas, allegedly subjected her to inappropriate behavior; U.S. Navy Lt. Paula Coughlin spilled her story to the Washington Post of sexual abuse in the Tailhook scandal ... and, of course, the Bobbit story.
Mamet, in OLEANNA, tackles the problem of PC and what is sexual harassment, how easily an innocent person can become a victim.
In this case it is Carol (Debra Eisenstadt), a young college student who visits her professor, John, (William H Macy), at his office to complain about the low grade he has given her. She comes as a supplicant while the professor tries to explain to her the reason for the low grade. She blames him; he is a poor teacher. He wonders if that could be true. He offers to erase the grade and give her an A for the term if she will visit him once a week to discuss the course.
She turns this into a case of sexual harassment which was the last thing the professor, a happily married man, was thinking of. Before the session is over she has accumulated a list of grievances (harassments) which she will turn over to the tenure committee that is considering giving him tenure.
As in most cases in real life, there is no real solution and the film is no exception. But the tense, very dramatic and literate exchanges that are found in plays written for the theater rather than TV or movies, make Oleanna a definite must-see film. In addition the acting is absolutely perfect; both Eisenstadt and Macy deserve to be nominated when Oscar time rolls around.
4 bytes 4 Bytes = Absolutely must see. 3 Bytes = Too good to be missed. 2 Bytes = So so. 1 Byte = Save your money.
Ben Hoffman
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