I just saw this film in the cinema and it succeeds on several levels, primarily because of Annette Bening. She was nominated for Best Actress before for 'The Grifters' and 'American Beauty' and her performance here, in my view, is as good or better. In fact, it reminds me of her performance in 'Valmont'. It is a delight to follow the plot by reading her face. And if Bening has any vanity, it applies to her craft not her face. The light shows or hides every wrinkle as required.
This film turns out to be a modern equivalent of 'Sunset Boulevard' and 'All About Eve' set in the 1930s. While based on Somerset Maugham's novella 'Theatre', Ronald Harwood has created a screenplay somehow beyond the strict confines of Maugham.
The success goes beyond an intelligent, laugh-out-loud script. Jeremy Irons, Juliet Stevenson (Emma), Michael Gambon (Singing Detective), Bruce Greenwood (Thirteen Days), Maury Chaykin (Dances With Wolves) and relative newcomers, Lucy Punch and Shaun Evans all get it right. I gather a theatre in Budapest gave the actors real material to work with, not blue screen CGI. I can't honestly recommend the director's previous effort 'Mephisto' unless you have patience. In this effort, his intelligence was used to entertain intelligently. If theatre intrigues you, you'll love this movie.
This film turns out to be a modern equivalent of 'Sunset Boulevard' and 'All About Eve' set in the 1930s. While based on Somerset Maugham's novella 'Theatre', Ronald Harwood has created a screenplay somehow beyond the strict confines of Maugham.
The success goes beyond an intelligent, laugh-out-loud script. Jeremy Irons, Juliet Stevenson (Emma), Michael Gambon (Singing Detective), Bruce Greenwood (Thirteen Days), Maury Chaykin (Dances With Wolves) and relative newcomers, Lucy Punch and Shaun Evans all get it right. I gather a theatre in Budapest gave the actors real material to work with, not blue screen CGI. I can't honestly recommend the director's previous effort 'Mephisto' unless you have patience. In this effort, his intelligence was used to entertain intelligently. If theatre intrigues you, you'll love this movie.