VANYA ON 42ND STREET
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 8.0
Date Released: varies (11-12/94) Running Length: 1:59 Rated: PG (Mature themes)
Starring: Wallace Shawn, Julianne Moore, Brooke Smith, Larry Pine, George Gaynes Directors: Louis Malle and Andre Gregory (theatrical production director) Producer: Fred Berner Screenplay: David Mamet adapted from Chekhov's UNCLE VANYA Cinematography: Declan Quinn Music: Joshua Redman Released by Sony Pictures Classics
VANYA ON 42ND STREET may be the most innovative and successful straight film adaptation of any play. Eschewing the big-budget options made available through the medium, Louis Malle's picture opts instead for the exact opposite: an intimate, unassuming view of a run through of David Mamet's reworking of Anton Chekhov's UNCLE VANYA.
The manner in which the play is framed is marvelously clever. VANYA opens with the various actors and theater director Andre Gregory walking the streets of New York. One-by-one, they enter the run-down New Amsterdam Theater, greet each other, engage in familiar banter, and get ready to perform in front of a small audience. When the film transitions from dialogue between the actors to the actual play, the switch is so subtle that it takes the audience a moment to realize what has happened.
In 1989, Gregory gathered a group of well-respected New York-based actors to perform VANYA based on Mamet's new interpretation (complete with his snappy dialogue). Off-and-on for four years, the group rehearsed together, often doing improvisations in a rented loft, and giving performances for select groups. Finally, Gregory and Wallace Shawn approached Louis Malle (all three were involved in MY DINNER WITH ANDRE) about making a film of the production. Thus was born VANYA ON 42ND STREET.
Excepting several transition sequences, the film is Chekhov's tale of lost opportunities. Those not familiar with UNCLE VANYA will find the story alone a rich and rewarding experience--not only is this a unique adaptation, but it does an excellent job conveying the issues, emotions, and complex characters which make VANYA so potent.
The play centers on a group of people (most of whom are related to each other by blood or marriage) gathered on the Russian estate of Professor Serybryakov (George Gaynes). Joining the professor, a supposed expert who really knows nothing, are his young, attractive wife Yelena (Julianne Moore); the idealistic Doctor Astrov (Larry Pine), whose lifelong passion is conserving the forests; Serybryakov's intelligent-but-plain daughter, Sonya (Brooke Smith), who's in love with the doctor; and Vanya (Wallace Shawn), a disillusioned and bitter man who blames his life's losses on his brother-in-law.
The familiarity of the cast with the material and each other is apparent in the comfortable manner in which VANYA is presented. The play, as is often true of adaptations of Chekhov's work, is talky, and the cast is populated with unhappy characters, but that doesn't stop this from being an engrossing and surprisingly humorous tale. The perfectly timed, repeated interjections of "Oh, will you shut up!" are responsible for a fair share of laughs.
There isn't a weak performance. In fact, there isn't a weak moment. Despite its many strengths, however, VANYA ON 42ND STREET isn't for everyone. It is, after all, a Russian play, with all the qualities ascribed to that storytelling niche. Issue-related and character-centered, VANYA has what could best be described as a minimalist plot. Action-oriented viewers need not bother. Nevertheless, for those seeking an amazing stage-to-film epiphany, there is no better choice.
The above represents the opinions of the author, and not necessarily those of Bellcore or any organization within Bellcore.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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