"Amy's View"
By Elyse Trevers
"Amy's View," one of three David Hare plays presented on Broadway this season, follows the relationship of actress Esme (Dench) and her daughter Amy (Samantha Bond ). The story chronicles some typical mother-daughter struggles, but it's the personality of Esme that givesthe play luster. The drama opens with Amy bringing her boyfriend Dominic (Tate Donovan) home to meet her mother. From the start Esme tries to separate them. However, despite her attempts the two stay together, and throughout the rest of the play Amy tries to reconcile her boyfriend and her mother. Dominic, despite his callousness, is perceptive enough to recognize the power struggle that is occurring. It's not about theater versus television, he observes; the real argument is "whether I deserve her daughter." The sad reality is that he doesn't.
The title of the play refers to the name of Amy's childhood newspaper and her Pollyanna perspective about life and love, namely that. "everyone should try get along" and "love conquers all." These sentiments, though timeless, are offered as meaningless platitudes and don't add anything to the play.
While Hare depicts the conflicts inherent in a mother-daughter relationship, he also attempts to comment on the nature of the creative arts -- which is not difficult to understand given his relationship with the theater. The problem with this is that his observations about theater, art, television and the critics have no direction at all. While mocking actors by portraying their excesses and pettiness, Hare respects their talent and appreciates their vulnerability. In fact, at the end of the play Esme goes onstage to perform, and we are reminded that an actor is ultimately all alone on the stage. (A pointed observation from a playwright who this season made his Broadway acting debut in a one-man show called "Via Dolorosa.") Although the observations may be insightful, they distract from the play and at times seem disjointed. Art seems transient and, in fact, the characters embrace the very medium they disparage. Esme winds up on television and Dominic, formerly a critic, becomes a filmmaker.
The performances are uneven, but perhaps that is because the depiction of the characters is uneven. While the women characters are fully drawn and portrayed as strong, the two men, Dominic and Frank, are two-dimensional. The men are users and neither woman likes the other's choice. As members of the audience, we like neither. Frank, as Esme's broker (and later lover), gives her disastrous business advice, which leads to her financial ruination. Amy pleads with her mother to sue him. Hare makes us question why strong women often choose such weak, ineffectual men.
Dench is a pleasure to watch, and her nomination for the 1999 Best Actress Tony Award is easy to understand. Although playing against a famous, seasoned performer can be difficult, Samantha Bond does a fine job and has also been nominated for a 1999 Tony Award for her efforts.
"Amy's View" is a limited run and you only have until July 18th to see Judi Dench onstage. Despite its many flaws, Dench is worth seeing. However, don't despair if it doesn't work out for you this time; the omnipresent Ms. Dench already has a new movie coming out soon.
Elyse Trevers is a theater critic from Long Island, New York
|
|