2019 is (long) over and done with, so let’s have a peek at
the Quarter 4 reviews before we get to the best of the year.
002 Historical Drama – Old
You’d think
that listening to three actors play Herman J. Mankiewicz, John Houseman, and
Orson Welles for nearly an hour wouldn’t be very entertaining, but that is not
the case. The actors in Victorville by Marcy Kahan are top
notch and so is the writing, which is perceptive and very accurate (according
to what I know of Welles and Houseman, at the very least). The story takes place in 1940 in isolated
Victorville, California, where Mankiewicz (Stanley Kamel) has been required by
Welles’ (William Hootkins) contract to stay and write Citizen Kane (which has
just been named), his alcohol and gambling curbed by Houseman (David Ogden
Stiers). There are some funny jokes
about Welles’ incipient facial hair and if what they say about the identity of
William Randolph Hearst’s “rosebud” is true, it’s quite scandalous. Welles is written and played absolutely
charmingly, with the undercurrent—and recognition from the other
characters—that you can’t believe anything he says. Houseman is alternatively repulsed and
attracted, as is, in his way, Mankiewicz.
Originally from 1998, Victorville
was directed by Ned Chaillet.
No comments:
Post a Comment