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New York Theater, Fall ’23
In Dig, by Theresa Rebeck at 59E59 Theaters, every line of dialogue is a speech, illuminating the speaker or advancing the plot. The actions are often loaded metaphors too: Roger’s repotting a damaged plant in the opening scene, giving it food, attention and room to grow, previews the main course of the play, a repotting of […]
Here – 3
This Belgian film spelled its title with a backward “r,” but it could just as well have been called “Where,” or even “Why?” The film festival programmer previewed it as “a film about soup, moss and love.” If he had added rain, a car in a repair shop and a Chinese diner he would have […]
Damsels in Distress (2012) – 6.5
Interesting that less than a dozen years ago a film could run wild with jokes about suicide. The humor also seemed dated, unless you’re still reading the Harvard Lampoon and watching Chevy Chase flicks. My viewing partner called it “stupid,” but I found it stupid funny. Greta Gerwig starred, with her trademark intelligent-naive affect, leading […]
Between Two Worlds – 6.5
A beatific Juliette Binoche is onscreen this entire film, which makes it worth watching if, like me, you relish her acting and beauty. The story of a journalist going undercover to do a book on cleaning ladies has a ring of truth, which it is, and the film reads more as social commentary than drama.
Vertigo (1958) – 5
Seeing Vertigo on critics’ lists of all-time best films, including Time’s last week, and not remembering if I’d seen it, we rented it for TV viewing. Our first reaction was that it must have been colorized, so garish were the reds and greens. Whatever the cause, it gave the film a very dated look, along with all […]