REVIEW: "Hyde Park on Hudson"

I thought, rather foolishly, that I would be able to watch "The Hobbit" on Christmas Day. Instead, I enjoyed my stroll to the theatre only to find it was sold out (and very busy) but along my 1.7 mile trek happened to pass the Cobble Hill Cinemas. I turned around and headed back home. On my return, I  thought, "What's playing there?"

Retracing my steps, I discovered a crowd like the one I encountered at the not-quite-megaplex for "Les Miserables" and "Django Unchained." Thankfully, "Hyde Park on Hudson" did not attract the same attention and I was able to settle in.

A curious film directed by Roger Michell, it tells the story of an affair between President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Bill Murray) and his sixth cousin, Margaret Suckley (Laura Linney). The story is built around Suckley's private journals and diaries which were discovered after her death in 1991. Up until then, there had been no evidence that an affair took place unlike Roosevelt's affair with Lucy Mercer during World War I.

Set in June 1939, Suckley is called to visit Roosevelt and provide him company at the family country estate in Hyde Park, NY at the insistence of FDR's mother. While FDR and Margaret, who's nickname is Daisy, grow closer, the major event to fall upon them is the visit by King George VI (Samuel West) and Queen Consort Elizabeth (Olivia Colman). This was the first time a British monarch had visited the United States - ever.

Roosevelt's mother, Sara Delano (Elizabeth Wilson), and Eleanor Roosevelt (Olivia Williams) duel over the control of many of the activities of the house including details of the state visit. One item of contention is the famous serving of hot dogs to royalty that Ms. Delano finds completely unfathomable. In the film, the hot dog is a matter of great discussion between the King and Queen. While the matter is very serious to all the parties involved, it is very humorous to watch. (The menu of that picnic can be found here.)

The film is balanced between the story of the romance between FDR and Suckley and the almost separate movie of the royal visit but I never once got the sense that it didn't work. To me it plays very much like a diary entry except that there's a small stretch there where Suckley has no presence which does take a bit away from her as an observer. There is also the growing relationship between FDR and the King. One scene after a dinner, the King tells FDR that he was not wanted by the people. FDR's responds, "I did not know they voted for that."

This is a quiet, curious, enjoyable movie to watch and while not nearly as compelling to view as "The King's Speech," the performances are very good and you believe these characters as they are. Murray is really impressive as FDR. And while Samuel West will draw comparisons to Colin Firth's George, it is truly of no matter. I can't leave out Ms. Linney - she is wonderful to watch.

For my part, the hobbyist historian in me will want to see this again. And I hope you do too.

"Hyde Park on Hudson"
Director: Roger Michell
Writer: Richard Nelson
Starring: Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Williams, Samuel West, Olivia Colman, Elizabeth Marvel, Elizabeth Wilson

Rineke Dijkstra

As someone who has fairly recently taken their interest in photography to the next-ish level, I was curious to check out "Rineke Dijkstra: A Retrospective" on exhibit at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. This was also my first visit to 'the Guggenheim.' Hey, the Upper East Side is kind of annoying commute-wise.

Ms. Dijkstra photographs using a 4x5 large format camera (a type of view camera) which is not much different than the first commercially available cameras back in the mid-19th century except with the obvious technological advancements. Her work is primarily portraiture especially as a series.

The exhibit is spread out over several galleries within the museum and first series one encounters are the Beach Portraits she began in 1992. Others who were in attendance seem to be taken by them but I was not among them - I found this group of portraits lacking. Perhaps they looked too much like a straightforward vacation photograph where the subject is dead center and not much going on anywhere else. And I was also reminded of the disturbing American Apparel advertising campaign(s). Even as I write this, I still struggle with how to convey my lack of connection to these images - there was just  'something.'

But I must tell you that the other series on display are very compelling. Olivier follows a young French male taken over four years and his enlistment in the French Foreign Legion and subsequent postings. Almerisa chronicles a Bosnian refugee over a decade and a half beginning as a child of six transitioning to motherhood. The bullfighters who have just emerged from the ring with blood on their clothes and faces. Young Israeli soldiers from their civiliam lives to induction. I was intrigued by the park series taken in Amsterdam, Brooklyn and Madrid especially the Tiergarten series taken in Berlin.

Dijkstra has also done video work and some of these are also on display in various rooms. One series depicts teenagers at dance clubs in which they simply dance in front of the camera. Grumpy Old Man alert! My lack of tolerance for what passes for dance music these days precluded me from giving the video the attention it deserved but still not enough that I cared for it. That being said, one series of videos was displayed split screen so the added information of 'change' allowed me to take it in further than I would have.

Another series of videos involved school children at the Tate Liverpool. Ruth Drawing Picasso, a schoolgirl really zoned in on her sketching of Picasso's Dora Maar Seated - watching her refocus after various distractions is endearing. Another video, I See A Woman Crying, captures the observations of a group of schoolchildren as they look upon Picasso's Weeping Woman - it's really fascinating as well as entertaining.

Overall, very interesting. And, indeed, something to be experienced especially the large format portraits - viewing the images online simply cannot provide the grandeur of the moments captured. Unless, of course, your display is a 60"high-definition television.

"Rineke Dijkstra: A Retrospective" at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, June 29 -  October 8.

A new season...

The 2012 Major League Baseball season is in full swing (officially started last week with the Opening Game played in the Tokyo Dome, Japan).

Lots of interesting changes in the off-season including the managerial change for my Red Sox. Taking over is the ever-entertaining Bobby Valentine. The only thought that runs through my head is what disguise will he assume when he's ejected from a game?

I don't expect the Red Sox to do well this season. The Yankees are the Yankees but... Tampa Bay will be tough - some writers are saying they have the best starting rotation in the AL East. Still, predictions are that calling for the Sox to contend. I'm a realist so this is one where I will be pleasantly surprised if they do indeed make it - still can't erase the memory of the nightmare double-feature of Sept. 28, 2011 (and still, I wasn't that surprised).

But it was great baseball/theatre!

A few new things for 2012:

• Expanded post-season with two wildcard teams; the respective division winners will get a bye as the two wildcards play a single-elimination game to decide who moves on.
• The Florida Marlins are now the Miami Marlins in brand new Marlins Park and they have a new look - the jury (read: my eyes) is still out.
• Jonathan Papelbon is closing for the Phillies - I'm okay with that one.
• The American League will now feature two prolific sluggers in Albert Pujols with the Los Angeles Angels and Prince Fielder with the Detroit Tigers - that should drive attendance and fear.
• The Los Angeles Dodgers have new ownership - I still think they should be moved back to Brooklyn and how awesome would that be?
• A new five-year labor agreement - pretty straightforward if you care to read it.

And close to my heart, Fenway Park turns 100 years old. I mean, that's pretty cool that Fenway's still around. Hell, Yankee Stadium was euthanized at 85!  So the oldest ballparks?

• Fenway Park, Boston - 1912
• Wrigley Field, Chicago - 1914
• Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles - 1962
• Angels Stadium, Anaheim and Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland - 1966
• Kauffmann Stadium, Kansas City - 1973

Also at 100 years old? The sinking of the Titanic.

Just thought you should know.

REVIEW: "Richard III"

I often tell people that "King Lear" is my favorite of all the Shakespeare plays but the dirty truth is that "Richard III" is the one I most enjoy. I have seen neither performed on the stage until now. This production features no less than Kevin Spacey in the lead role and, honestly, who wouldn't want to see that?  I'm here to let you know that you won't be disappointed should you get the chance to see the latest Brooklyn Academy of Music's (BAM) Bridge Project production directed by Sam Mendes.

That being said, all is not entirely well...

While the production as whole appears well done, the same cannot be said of the cast and that actually includes Mr. Spacey himself.  That is to say, watching this "Richard" left me with a feeling that I had seen two different shows performed simultaneously.

I was let down watching the scene I most wanted to see, Act 1, Scene II in which Richard seduces Lady Anne in front of her dead husband. Mind you, the man Richard himself killed! In my opinion, this scene is arguably one of the most difficult to perform and requires a nuance that only seasoned actors can bring to the stage. And I did not see that in our Lady Anne, played by Annabel Scholey, always operating at one level and never conveying the required grief, hatred, shock, outrage, bewitchment, and submission (yes, in that order and, yes, I may have left something out) that the audience not only needs to see, but feel. Unfortunately, Ms. Scholey's Lady Anne was no match for Spacey's Richard. It must be said, however, that 'Lady Anne' acquits herself somewhat in the second act but curiously as a ghost - hmm.

I did think it was really odd that two adult women were cast as the doomed princes. They clearly looked like two adult women dressed in schoolboy uniforms - visually, it just didn't work.

The rest of the cast seemed to be overshadowed by Mr. Spacey's over-the-top performance which bordered parody at times including the physical presentation of Richard - mangled leg in a brace with a prominent humpback (it reminded me of Roger "Verbal" Kint and Jimmy at times). It bothered me that some of the lines were delivered with a nudge, nudge, wink, wink aspect that elicited laughter from the audience. It really felt out of place - kind of like the wave at Fenway Park. C'mon people! It's not a comedy. But maybe that was Mr. Spacey's fault.

So, there I am sitting through the first act dazzled by the awesomeness of Kevin Spacey's presence on stage but equally perplexed by both the seemingly lack of presence by the rest of the cast AND Kevin Spacey occasionally taking Richard to an unnecessary level. But something happened on the way to intermission. It became the "Richard III" I wanted to see!

The first clue came in the scene in which the ailing King Edward asks everybody to reconcile; it is cleverly done as a photo op. Later on, the scene in which Richard is petitioned to take power as king is brilliantly executed. And it is from this point, that the show achieves a consistency well worth seeing.

Again, while many of the cast continue to be outshined by Mr. Spacey during the second act, Haydn Gwynne, as the wronged Queen Elizabeth, gives as good as she gets when Richard asks, then demands, that she speak to her daughter for her hand in marriage. The production as a whole seems to finally find its soul and achieve equilibrium after intermission. And it finishes strong; the play runs so smoothly that you don't even feel the three hours that it takes to perform.

Be forewarned there is a particularly grisly scene. And while I know this review comes off as not-a-ringing endorsement, you will most certainly be entertained.

"Richard III" by William Shakespeare. At the BAM Harvey Theatre, 651 Fulton St., Brooklyn; running now through March 4th.