| Viewing “Patriots” thru the "Amadeus" prism | |
| Last Edit: Delvino 10:59 am EDT 04/28/24 | |
| Posted by: Delvino 10:50 am EDT 04/28/24 | |
| In reply to: re: “Patriots” interview with Stuhlbarg and Goold (video). - TheOtherOne 09:20 am EDT 04/28/24 | |
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| On the way out, I told a friend that "Patriots" is structurally a kind of "Amadeus" tale, i.e., a successful man with some amassed power and reputation ultimately envying another's. Not a clean parallel, but useful for evaluating stakes. Both Mozart and Putin succeed despite efforts to thwart them (and I'm only speaking of the Shaffer take, not fact-checking here). "Patriots" never reaches Amadeus's level of emotional engagement, because what's envied and resented - Putin's clearly unearned ascension - isn't tethered to identifiable, compelling attributes. Watching a dull but volatile bureaucrat succeed has only so much intrigue. We are asked to gasp at the irony of his behavior and edicts, knowing he's now a global war criminal. Yet our gasps of recognition can't compensate for the shallowness of the character. Tim Keen gives a fascinating performance; yet it's all about the creation of the Putin self-presentation. A study of re-invention, cards held (too) close to the vest. Just when we hope the play might dig deeper into the only reason the story is being told, we're stuck watching the Salieri figure fall off his self-made pedestal. Again, I'm not suggesting the plays are entirely worthy match-ups. But pulling out the characters against the yardstick of a successful piece of storytelling helped me understand my intellectual indifference by the end. |
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| Previous: | re: “Patriots” interview with Stuhlbarg and Goold (video). - TheOtherOne 09:20 am EDT 04/28/24 |
| Next: | Why is Appropriate a revival but Mary Jane a new play? - bobby2 09:34 pm EDT 04/26/24 |
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