10 months ago

@adammorgan You must mean Emily Watson—and yes, Her Ladyship is a revelation. Certainly, Hopkins and McKellen show flashes of genius inherent to these giants. Yet this production, on the whole, comes off (to me) as self-indulgent, with a surfeit of sobbing moans. What got me through the damn thing was the memory of the Finney/Courtenay production (1983), plus of course, respect for our grand troupe—but omg, is it unbearably bitter. The original (film) version had the same notes of pathos, but glimpses of long-gone greatness shone through the cracks elevating the entire human experience. I see the 1983 version is streaming on Amazon, so I have it in my queue to see if it lives up to my heightened memory of it.<br /> <br /> UPDATE: After re-screening the 1983 version, I can see each production has its strength. Upon review, it's clear what I so deeply recall is Tom Courtenay's shattering performance in the titular role. Courtenay, whose star rose in the 1960s with the "angry young man" genre — Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) — continues the tradition with savage vulnerability under Peter Yates's 1983 direction. One can not find fault with McKellan (nor Hopkins, nor Finney) for technical excellence—but it's Courtenay who tears your heart apart. This brings me to the great strength of the 2015 film: which, as pointed out, is Emily Watson (not Mortimer). I was surprised to learn, it seems, that Her Ladyship had been reduced to beans in the 1983 production. I can't be certain her role was more or less written out, but in a 2020 obituary for Ronald Harwood (Screenplay, Theatre Play), a brief bit of Her Ladyship's dialogue appears, which confirms the strong dialogue of the 2015 film comes directly from the original play—which really is perfection—and leaves a big gaping hole in the 1983 version.