Word: plot
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Pacing is problematic as well: opening up at hyper-speed, the movie rushes to get through the exposition necessary for the convoluted plot. After the kidnapping, though, the action slows almost to a halt; the rest of the movie moves sluggishly, with brief speedy sections. The aggravation of this halting progress is compounded by the fact that during the lulls, rather than actually develop his characters, Boyle chooses instead to meander around the lifeless world that he has created...
...film also suffers from clunky dialogue and clumsy structuring: nearly the entire first half is occupied by the cheap and easy device of an extended flashback of Vincent's childhood, complete with voice-over by Hawke. A clever O. Henry plot twist near the end is spoiled by the stupidly predictable confrontation that follows; the love story feels grafted onto this loveless world for Hollywood purposes; and the ending, perhaps inevitably, is a let-down, its tone of solemn optimism recalling the blandly humanistic "this is only the first step" resolution of Contact...
...feeling that not much new ground is being covered. Similarly, the condensed performance of Hamlet that the players provide seems at times unnecessary: though elegantly presented (with notable performances by Ahana Kalappa '01 as Gertrude and Jay Chaffin '00 as Laertes), it perhaps presumes too much ignorance of the plot on the audience's part. But whether seen by a Shakespearean novice or aficionado, Groundlings contributes greatly to our understanding of Hamlet and all its many meta-dramatic implications...
...courtroom drama, in which Christian Roulleau '01--a member of the audience--is forced to stand trial for the murders in Hamlet. The play begins as Judge Titorelli (Max-Joseph Montel '01) takes the stand, while on stage behind him a troupe of actors pantomime Shakespeare's bloody plot. In search of a guilty party, the menacing Bailiff (Young Lee '99) whisks Roulleau out of his seat among the audience and into the witness stand. Prosecuting Counselor Clamence (Claire Farley '01) accuses him of complicity in the actors' murders: by doing nothing to prevent the players' deaths, she argues, Roulleau...
Painting by numbers is not particularly taxing. The canvas comes prepainted, and a neat if unimaginative work is guaranteed. Nicholas Delbanco '63 has made literature by the numbers with his new book Old Scores. The prefab plot of star-crossed love between teacher and student serves as his canvas, but a serious mixup occurrs with the paint. Large sections of the completed work remain blank, and the final result is not a thing of beauty. Delbanco has rehashed an old tale with little style and less coherence...