Word: aarons
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Mamet writes his characters larger than life. Unless an actor flings himself into his role whole-heartedly, the portrayal becomes self-conscious. Aaron Zelman succumbs to this danger in his portrayal of Gould. As the play progresses, he adapts his style admirably to the ups and downs of his character's troubled psyche, playing the sobered, morning-after Gould with dull compassion. But, especially in Gould's brasher incarnations, Zelman never seems quite convinced that he can carry off such an outrageous script. He knows that we know that he's acting...
...then quite suddenly, Aaron's life falls apart. Having contracted tuberculosis, Aaron's mother must leave for a sanitarium. Soon after, Aaron's Willy Loman-like father abandons him to chase some sales-man's dream in the Midwest. Orphaned, Aaron finds himself fending for his life, scraping for food, clothing and shelter. Intensely lonely and isolated, Aaron cannot turn to anyone for assistance. His only friends are a motley crew of down-and-outs, one worse off than the next. The film's second hour is a dark and macabre display of what would really happen if a child...
Gone is the sense of security and reassurance, as Soderbergh ("sex, lies and videotape," "Kafka") uses brooding music and lighting to throw his viewers out in the cold along with Aaron. We feel Aaron's hunger pangs as he cuts pictures of food out of a magazine and eats them off a plate. We worry whether or not Aaron can evade the creditors one more day. Survival seems improbable...
...feel manipulated when Aaron ultimately comes out as the king of the hill, beating the odds of the Depression. Careful not to portray Aaron as a slick and smug Ferris Bueller type, Bradford plays him as a wide-eyed, ingenious little boy who is as amazeds as we are when he does triumph...
...shine even more. Spalding Gray as a suicidal ex-millionaire and Elizabeth McGovern as a bitter and jaded prostitute darken the tone and mood of every scene they are in, giving the second half of the film an eerily acerbic edge. Also featured is the underrated Karen Allen as Aaron's (almost overly) benevolent teacher...