Lange, Brosnan, Bates: performances like these never get old
This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness.
It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here.
Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph.
But lately, strange things have been happening.
She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines.
Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced?
Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well.
Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role.
The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses.
There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it.
Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations.
Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment.
If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch.
This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness.
It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here.
Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph.
But lately, strange things have been happening.
She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines.
Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced?
Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well.
Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role.
The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses.
There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it.
Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations.
Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment.
If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch.
This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness.
It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here.
Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph.
But lately, strange things have been happening.
She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines.
Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced?
Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well.
Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role.
The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses.
There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it.
Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations.
Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment.
If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch.
This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness.
It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here.
Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph.
But lately, strange things have been happening.
She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines.
Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced?
Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well.
Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role.
The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses.
There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it.
Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations.
Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment.
If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch.
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Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have begun formally separating their shared $596 million fortune as part of their divorce proceedings. The transaction was recorded on May 25, two days before 68-year-old Furness filed for divorce from Jackman, 55, following 27 years of marriage. According to property records reviewed by People, a limited liability company (LLC) tied to Furness paid $US11.7 million ($A18 million) to the LLC the couple had used when they acquired a Manhattan penthouse in New York 2022 for a reported $US21 million ($A32 million). The home is now valued at around $US23 million ($A35 million), with the Real Deal first to report the sale. The couple's luxury apartment, located in a landmark architect-designed building in Chelsea, spans nearly 500 square metres across two floors, with an additional 350 square metres of outdoor space. The property is one of several high-value homes acquired by the pair during their nearly three-decade-long relationship. Jackman and Furness reportedly still own homes in New York's West Village, the Hamptons, a waterfront condominium overlooking Bondi Beach in Sydney, as well as other properties in the US, UK and Australia. In September 2023, they confirmed their separation in a joint statement. "Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage," it said. "Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth." Since then Jackman has been linked to US actress Sutton Foster, his co-star on the Broadway play The Music Man. In May, Furness issued a separate statement discussing the emotional impact of the split. "My heart and compassion goes out to everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal. It's a profound wound that cuts deep," she said. "However, I believe in a higher power and that God or the universe, whatever you relate to as your guidance, is always working for us. "That belief has helped me navigate the breakdown of an almost three-decade marriage." According to The Daily Mail, a source claimed Jackman was "blindsided" by the comments and "extremely disappointed", alleging there had been "an unwritten understanding that she would not trash him to the press". As of May 30, the couple had reportedly reached an agreement to divide their estimated $US387 million ($A596 million) fortune. Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have begun formally separating their shared $596 million fortune as part of their divorce proceedings. The transaction was recorded on May 25, two days before 68-year-old Furness filed for divorce from Jackman, 55, following 27 years of marriage. According to property records reviewed by People, a limited liability company (LLC) tied to Furness paid $US11.7 million ($A18 million) to the LLC the couple had used when they acquired a Manhattan penthouse in New York 2022 for a reported $US21 million ($A32 million). The home is now valued at around $US23 million ($A35 million), with the Real Deal first to report the sale. The couple's luxury apartment, located in a landmark architect-designed building in Chelsea, spans nearly 500 square metres across two floors, with an additional 350 square metres of outdoor space. The property is one of several high-value homes acquired by the pair during their nearly three-decade-long relationship. Jackman and Furness reportedly still own homes in New York's West Village, the Hamptons, a waterfront condominium overlooking Bondi Beach in Sydney, as well as other properties in the US, UK and Australia. In September 2023, they confirmed their separation in a joint statement. "Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage," it said. "Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth." Since then Jackman has been linked to US actress Sutton Foster, his co-star on the Broadway play The Music Man. In May, Furness issued a separate statement discussing the emotional impact of the split. "My heart and compassion goes out to everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal. It's a profound wound that cuts deep," she said. "However, I believe in a higher power and that God or the universe, whatever you relate to as your guidance, is always working for us. "That belief has helped me navigate the breakdown of an almost three-decade marriage." According to The Daily Mail, a source claimed Jackman was "blindsided" by the comments and "extremely disappointed", alleging there had been "an unwritten understanding that she would not trash him to the press". As of May 30, the couple had reportedly reached an agreement to divide their estimated $US387 million ($A596 million) fortune. Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have begun formally separating their shared $596 million fortune as part of their divorce proceedings. The transaction was recorded on May 25, two days before 68-year-old Furness filed for divorce from Jackman, 55, following 27 years of marriage. According to property records reviewed by People, a limited liability company (LLC) tied to Furness paid $US11.7 million ($A18 million) to the LLC the couple had used when they acquired a Manhattan penthouse in New York 2022 for a reported $US21 million ($A32 million). The home is now valued at around $US23 million ($A35 million), with the Real Deal first to report the sale. The couple's luxury apartment, located in a landmark architect-designed building in Chelsea, spans nearly 500 square metres across two floors, with an additional 350 square metres of outdoor space. The property is one of several high-value homes acquired by the pair during their nearly three-decade-long relationship. Jackman and Furness reportedly still own homes in New York's West Village, the Hamptons, a waterfront condominium overlooking Bondi Beach in Sydney, as well as other properties in the US, UK and Australia. In September 2023, they confirmed their separation in a joint statement. "Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage," it said. "Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth." Since then Jackman has been linked to US actress Sutton Foster, his co-star on the Broadway play The Music Man. In May, Furness issued a separate statement discussing the emotional impact of the split. "My heart and compassion goes out to everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal. It's a profound wound that cuts deep," she said. "However, I believe in a higher power and that God or the universe, whatever you relate to as your guidance, is always working for us. "That belief has helped me navigate the breakdown of an almost three-decade marriage." According to The Daily Mail, a source claimed Jackman was "blindsided" by the comments and "extremely disappointed", alleging there had been "an unwritten understanding that she would not trash him to the press". As of May 30, the couple had reportedly reached an agreement to divide their estimated $US387 million ($A596 million) fortune. Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness have begun formally separating their shared $596 million fortune as part of their divorce proceedings. The transaction was recorded on May 25, two days before 68-year-old Furness filed for divorce from Jackman, 55, following 27 years of marriage. According to property records reviewed by People, a limited liability company (LLC) tied to Furness paid $US11.7 million ($A18 million) to the LLC the couple had used when they acquired a Manhattan penthouse in New York 2022 for a reported $US21 million ($A32 million). The home is now valued at around $US23 million ($A35 million), with the Real Deal first to report the sale. The couple's luxury apartment, located in a landmark architect-designed building in Chelsea, spans nearly 500 square metres across two floors, with an additional 350 square metres of outdoor space. The property is one of several high-value homes acquired by the pair during their nearly three-decade-long relationship. Jackman and Furness reportedly still own homes in New York's West Village, the Hamptons, a waterfront condominium overlooking Bondi Beach in Sydney, as well as other properties in the US, UK and Australia. In September 2023, they confirmed their separation in a joint statement. "Our family has been and always will be our highest priority. We have been blessed to share almost three decades together as husband and wife in a wonderful, loving marriage," it said. "Our journey now is shifting and we have decided to separate to pursue our individual growth." Since then Jackman has been linked to US actress Sutton Foster, his co-star on the Broadway play The Music Man. In May, Furness issued a separate statement discussing the emotional impact of the split. "My heart and compassion goes out to everyone who has traversed the traumatic journey of betrayal. It's a profound wound that cuts deep," she said. "However, I believe in a higher power and that God or the universe, whatever you relate to as your guidance, is always working for us. "That belief has helped me navigate the breakdown of an almost three-decade marriage." According to The Daily Mail, a source claimed Jackman was "blindsided" by the comments and "extremely disappointed", alleging there had been "an unwritten understanding that she would not trash him to the press". As of May 30, the couple had reportedly reached an agreement to divide their estimated $US387 million ($A596 million) fortune.
The Advertiser
10 hours ago
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Lange, Brosnan, Bates: performances like these never get old
This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness. It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here. Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph. But lately, strange things have been happening. She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines. Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced? Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well. Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role. The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses. There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it. Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations. Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment. If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch. This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness. It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here. Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph. But lately, strange things have been happening. She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines. Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced? Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well. Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role. The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses. There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it. Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations. Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment. If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch. This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness. It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here. Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph. But lately, strange things have been happening. She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines. Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced? Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well. Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role. The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses. There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it. Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations. Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment. If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch. This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness. It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here. Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph. But lately, strange things have been happening. She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines. Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced? Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well. Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role. The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses. There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it. Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations. Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment. If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch.
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Painful story behind the new Harry Potter series
In any given week there are any number of images that are likely to elicit an Edvard Munch-y Scream but this week there was one photo, shot in a green and pleasant bit of England which could have doubled as a Wind In the Willows set, that should have set your hair on fire. In the image, three tweens crouch, broadly grinning for the camera, the trio having beaten out tens of thousands of other 9-11-year-olds to nab the lead roles in the New HBO remake of Harry Potter. Ohgodisthisagoodideareallyummmm…. Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton have been cast, respectively, as the Harry and his sidekicks Ron and Hermione, guaranteeing them fortunes, fame and never having to sit through year ten modern history should they not fancy. That day, they just might be in Cannes doing a quick red carpet or in Prague shooting Darron Aronofksy's newie. Ciao darling. I'm sure that for McLaughlin, Stout and Stanton it's a dream come true. They feel like golden ticket winners, the envy of kids the world over and are about to embark on an incredible adventure. But boring adult me looks at this publicity shot and wants to do some Munch-ing. Child stardom, historically, has a helluva chequered record. The announcement of McLaughlin, Stout and Stanton as the new faces of Harry Potter feels like the most double edged of swords going outside of a Roman military museum. On one hand, what child's dream would not be to get to skive off school to pretend to be a wizard all day while earning squillions? On the other hand, youthful fame is notorious for wreaking havoc and often coming with an extraordinarily high, lifelong cost. The most obvious casualties: Drew Barrymore, Cory Haim, Cory Feldman, Edward Furlong, Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Tatum O'Neil, Macaulay Culkin, and Amanda Bynes. We could also probably add in Justin Bieber considering he seems to really be going through something right now. Hello, stints in rehab, reality TV, and even court, with the occasional caught-by-the-paps, head-shaving breakdown thrown in there too. For decades it has been clear that childhood stardom both arrests and speeds up the normal sort of emotional, psychological and social development that you are meant to go through as you leave childhood and awkwardly galumph into adulthood. We've known all of this since Ronald Reagan was eating all the red jelly beans out of his Oval Office jar and yet every generation there are new fresh-faced enthusiastic pre-teens who don't, who can't, quite realise what they are about to sacrifice. Look no further than the original Potter stars, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint. They have all made clear that the actual acting on the eight original movies – the larking about on sets and the creative aspect of it all – was a real joy but that tremendous, global fame that came with it deeply affected them. Radcliffe, Watson and Grint might never have to worry about mortgage payments or how they can afford that ice cream truck they always wanted (Grint) but the life-altering reverberations of being cast in Potter are clear to this day. Radcliffe has, on a number of occasions, talked about how he started drinking heavily as a teenager to cope with it all. 'The quickest way to forget about the fact that you're being watched is to get very drunk,' he told Off Camera With Sam Jones in 2019. 'I was a recluse at 20. It was pathetic,' he told Shortlist in 2012. 'I'd stay in my apartment for days and drink alone.' During a Newsweek interview in 2022 he was clear: 'I wouldn't want fame for my kid.' Speaking to The Times in 2021, Grint said: 'I found it hard to deal with the fame side of things. If I ever do see Dan [Radcliffe] or Emma [Watson], fame is the one thing we never talk about.' Wade into the myriad of interviews Radcliffe, Watson and Grint have given over the years and the words they use to describe becoming global megastars so young are ones like 'scary', 'dehumanising', 'surreal and odd', 'weird' and 'vulnerable'. They have talked about feeling 'detached' from other teenagers. Grint said in 2018, when he would go back to his old school and see his peers, 'We had very little in common, which is quite isolating in a way.' Radcliffe, Watson and Grint won their roles in 2000 and yet here we are, 25 years later, and their careers and public identities are still indelibly shaped by a movie they started shooting a full year before 9/11 even happened. Smartphones didn't exist yet. Instagram had barely been invented when the final Potter movie came out. So, what will the future be like for McLaughlin, Stout and Stanton? They are about to embark on a project that will make them some of the most instantly recognisable teenagers in a world saturated by social media. How will they get through this unscathed? I'm sure their parents, HBO and every producer involved will do absolutely everything in their power to look after them; that they will all take every precaution and hire every child psychologist and adolescent specialist and on-set advocate to try and protect McLaughlin, Stout and Stanton as much as possible. But surely there is only so far a well-meaning studio and the most thoughtful and best of parents can go to shield them from real world consequences of their roles. Just think about what lies ahead. McLaughlin, Stout and Stanton will have to go through the profound, innate awkwardness of adolescence – the hormones, the physical and emotional changes – with People keeping a around-the-clock watch. Their faces will be on screens the world over. For a new generation, they will be Harry, Hermione and Ron. They will become immutable parts of the cultural furniture and nothing can ever change that. There will be no going back. They are making what could be a lifelong choice at 11. There will be at least one season per book, with the first out in 2026 meaning that, assuming there is one series per year, the final one could be screening in 2034. McLaughlin as the titular Harry will be 19-years-old by then. How will they be on the other side of this? I hope that what lies ahead for McLaughlin, Stout and Stanton is all the joy and fun and magic of bringing these characters to life. I hope against hope that they can somehow dodge having to walk the tough path that many other child stars have over the years. I hope. I so very dearly hope. And if all else fails, they can buy themselves an ice cream van I suppose.
