Samuel Beckett Guy Lodge Williams Ireland state Wisconsin film stage death awards Platform Racing Samuel Beckett Guy Lodge Williams Ireland state Wisconsin

‘Dance First’ Review: A Staid, Respectable Samuel Beckett Biopic That Misses Its Subject’s Sense of Mischief

Reading now: 879
variety.com

Guy Lodge Film Critic In a genre not traditionally given to brevity, James Marsh‘s literary biopic “Dance First” at least has that on its side: In 100 minutes, it races through the key events and alliances in the life of Irish author and dramatist Samuel Beckett, even finding time for some metaphysical musings alongside the cradle-to-grave checklist.

But Beckett’s characteristic terseness — or radical “lessness,” to borrow a title from one of his stories — isn’t a feature of this creditable but ponderous film, which ultimately achieves its efficient runtime by skirting any meaningful engagement with Beckett’s work and literary legacy.

What’s left is an anatomy of his unhappiness via a procession of stymied or soured relationships: shot with grace, acted with intelligence, but short on Beckettian daring or wit.

It’s another biopic from Marsh, following 2014’s popular “The Theory of Everything” and 2017’s less-seen “The Mercy,” that resists bringing his flinty gifts as an Oscar-winning docmaker (“Man on Wire,” “Wisconsin Death Trip”) to the table — instead trading in the softer, more romantic filmic language of adult prestige drama.

Read more on variety.com
The website celebsbar.com is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.

Related News

DMCA