Margot at the Wedding

Charlie Wilson's War

Disturbing depiction of ways decisions are made in Washington. Tightly plotted film that avoids making the obvious connections to the mess in Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Strong acting by Tom Hanks and Phillip Seymour Hoffman; well directed by Mike Nichols.

The Savages

Excellent examination of family dymanics in the face of dysfunction and dementia. A coda perhaps wraps up the film a bit too sanguinely. Or perhaps it objectifies the film's earlier distinction between plot and narrative, by asking us to recognize that the preceeding two hours have simply been unadulterated narrative, which the coda translates into a plot.
Great performances by Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Juno

Great film, though not without its questionable message regarding teen pregnancy.

Loved the soundtrack.

Highly recommend.

Starting Out in the Evening

Zero Hour (Tea Alagic)

An excellent play written and directed by a Yale grad student about the Balkan wars.

Peter and Jerry, Edward Albee

The second act of this play began as Zoo Story, a one-act Albee wrote early in his career. In the 90s, he added a prequel act to make it more about a man and his marriage rather than a random encounter between two men. The play raises all the usual Albee questions about relationships and sanity.
Kathleen Turner, whom we saw recently in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, was in the row behind us.

No Country for Old Men

This is one of the most blood chilling movies I've dared see in a long time. As usual, Tommy Lee Jones captures a sheriff in 1980's West Texas with dead-on accuracy. And the villain was as evil as my imagination will allow. The Coens manage to evoke the spirit of the time and place, which for me, added to the movie's menace.

I must say, however, that McCarthy's book is more horrifying still. While I could sit through the movie, I couldn't endure the book. The violence took too long to get through.

Cymbeline, Shakespare

I'm Not There, Todd Haynes

Bob Dylan times six.

I resisted seeing this movie because I'm more than indifferent to Bob Dylan--I find him terribly irritating and difficult to stand in large doses. Nevertheless, I saw the film because (1) I generally like the work of Todd Haynes, and (2) M. said that he'd fill in the interpretive gaps, if necessary.

By and large, I found the film self-sufficient. Despite its intense intertextuality, it doesn't require much knowledge--not even any admiration of Dylan in order to enjoy and appreciate the film. As most know, Hanyes created 6 characters (played by Cate Blanchett, Ben Whishaw, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, and Marcus Carl Franklin) to represent the multiple roles Dylan has projected to the world since he abandoned Bob Zimmerman. From the pre-adolescent black actor playing the Woodie Guthrie wanna be, to the uberhip Jude, we see the performance of the persona called Bob Dylan.

Recommend.

Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck

Very good detective/police drama.

Recommend.

The Prairie Home Companion

Saturday, 1 December 2007, 5:45 pm
New York City, Town Hall

For years, we've been promising ourselves to grab an live taping of PHC when it makes its annual stay in NYC. This year, a friend and fellow PHC enthusiast, snatched tickets as soon as they went on sale and invited us to go with her.

In addition to the regular cast, Inge Sweeringen, Joe Ely (from Lubbock, Texas!), and Joel Guzman performed. Ely, backed by Guzman's accordian, performed several ballads--much better suited for this than providing two-step tunes at Cold Water Country thirty years ago. Sweeringen's jazz renditions and scat-singing were in the Ella Fitzgerald tradition.

My favorite comedy sketch was the parody, "Sounds of Sickness," probably because I've been suffering from a head cold for over a week. Interesting to watch him extemporous the "Lake Woobegone" tales.

Iphigenie en Tauride, Christoph Willibald Gluck

1 December 2007, 1:30 matinee
Metropolitan Opera, New York City

Featuring Susan Graham as Iphigenie and Placido Domingo as Orestes, this was only the second Metropolitan Opera production of Gluck's senuous 1779 opera. (The first was in 1917!)
The opera is full of beautiful arias and choruses. I thought the highpoint was the final chorus followed by the reconciliation scene.
Beside the lovely music, the staging was particularly effective. I especially liked the split-screen effect that helped keep the two narrative strands parallel, even as the characters were ignorant of each other's movements. The most striking image occured in the final scene, when the priestesses lined the sacrificial alter with flower petals as they sang praises to "Diana, Chaste Daughter of Leto." A (daring?) moment occurs after Iphigenie has learned Orestes' identify; quietly mourning for the death of her mother (at Orestes' hands), it is momentarily unclear whether she will actually reconcile with Orestes. The reconciliation becomes evident only only once she drops her mother's green scarf then embraces Orestes.
This particular production make wonderful use of a smart, 10-person ballet troupe.
All the all, the production fit the opera: simple but opulent.

Prairie Home Companion

After listening to PHC for years on the radio, it was great fun to see the show live at Town Hall in NYC.

Recommend, with enthusiasm.