Doubts about Doubt

From today's Variety, a review of Doubt. Streep does not fare well, alas!

The considerable integrity and strength of John Patrick Shanley’s play prevail despite a questionable central performance in “Doubt.” Stepping back behind the camera for the first time since his misguided “Joe Versus the Volcano” in 1990, Shanley capably retains the power of his study of unsubstantiated moral convictions gone tragically awry, and the extensive opening up of his four-character, 90-minute 2005 Pulitzer and Tony Award winner adds in social context what it loses in sharply focused intensity...

...The film’s one iffy element, oddly enough, is Streep. This master screen actor, who applies a slight New Yawk accent to her phrasings, takes the vocal low road here as opposed to the more forceful approach of Cherry Jones in her riveting Broadway turn. By ostensibly underplaying the role’s villainy, however, Streep overdoes the melodrama, thereby turning Sister Aloysius into more of a stock figure than she ultimately seemed onstage. Every little tic, gesture and facial mannerism seems maximized by the effort expended to minimalize them, to diminished returns in the cause of creating a three-dimensional character. While the dramatic scenes still register with notable force, it’s a disconcerting, unsatisfying performance from a thesp who most of the time rings true. (emphasis mine)

Hmmm.... interesting! They made their bed when they didn't cast Cherry Jones, and now they will lie in it. Still looking forward to seeing Philip Seymour Hoffman, though, who fares considerably better: "Hoffman’s performance is ambiguous enough to make the viewer continue to wonder about Father Flynn and, crucially, to fear Sister Aloysius might actually be right."

Jack Goes Boating

I totally, totally LOVED Jack Goes Boating. It's one of those rare productions when material, direction, design, and performances all work perfectly together and create a really magical, delightful evening of theater.

The story is amazingly normal: married couple Clyde (John Ortiz) and Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega) introduce their single, socially anxious friend Jack (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to sweet but equally troubled Connie (Beth Cole). Jack and Connie's hesitant courtship is juxtaposed by Clyde and Lucy's sometimes-rocky-but-pretty-typical marriage. Ultimately, it's nothing more (or less) than a story about Jack trying new things, branching out, and becoming just a little bit adventurous in hopes that he might find a companion, and even a little romance. In fact, a good song for this show would be Rilo Kiley's "More Adventurous".

The simplicity and detail of this production are astounding. David Korins' set effortlessly creates a modest but comfy apartment, a dingy telesales office, and a public pool with humor and style. And the final moment , when Jack rows Connie across what we imagine to be a glassy lake, is stunning.

The performances are also achievements in simplicity, honesty, and fun detail. John Ortiz is so charming, and Daphne Rubin-Vega is delightful and perfectly cast - refreshing after seeing her working so hard in Les Miz, where she was clearly a square peg in a gigantic, overwrought, revolving hole. Philip Seymour Hoffman is magnetic, and does so much with so little. The play might disintegrate in the hands of a lesser actor, but Hoffman's sensitive, light touch is so watchable that any flaws in the writing are rendered invisible.

Also: it's really nice to see a play where the characters use drugs, and it doesn't feel like an infomercial. The drug use in Jack Goes Boating informs the characters, and furthers the action, and tells us about these people's lives, and that's it. It doesn't aim to warn us of the terrible consequences of drug use, aside from burning dinner. So, SO many people smoke pot these days, and it's really nice to see it represented in a truthful way - not a positive way, not glorifying it, but not making it into the devil's handiwork, either.