Allegiant, the third installment in the Divergent film franchise, came out March 18th. Based on the first half of the concluding novel to Veronica Roth’s mega bestselling YA dystopian trilogy, it follows Tris (Shailene Woodley, The Fault in Our Stars) and Four (Theo James, Downton Abbey) as they leave their isolated, dystopian Chicago behind in order to explore the world beyond. However, conspiracies and secrets abound and it’s not long before they and their friends realize that leaving the relative safety of Chicago might have been a terrible mistake.
Directed again by Robert Schwentke–who first helmed the lackluster sophomore installment of the series, Insurgent—Allegiant will likely either make or break the film franchise. Insurgent saw an extreme shift in tone and quality away from the original film, and Allegiant the novel is by far the weakest of Roth’s trilogy. Allegiant the film will have to find a way to overcome both of these obstacles if the franchise wants any chance of redeeming itself in its fourth and final film (next summer’s Ascendant), based on the second half of the same novel.
Reviews of Allegiant so far have not been stellar. With phrases flying around like “unintentionally silly” (Ariana Bacle, Entertainment Weekly) and “egregiously padded piffle” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), it’s difficult to be hopeful for this film. Still, as a longtime fan of Roth’s books, I am.
After all, Divergent has never been about deep messages or complex character development. The books thrive instead on their fast pace, fun action, and snarky banter. And with all of that in mind, I’ve got my fingers crossed that Schwentke, Woodley, James, & co. might just pull this thing off. (And even if they don’t, well–this should at least be entertaining.)
Wednesday night, a fair sized group braved the cold and slippery roads to see National Theater Live’s screening of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. A stunning play in it’s honesty, brutality, moral ambiguity, discussion of sex and pleasure, it creates just as complicating and deep feelings in its audience.
The set for this production, performed within the Donmar Warehouse, perfectly complimented the theater’s space. With an audience on three sides of the stage it created a sense of forced intimacy that reflected the idea of confinement some of the characters grapple with. The set pieces themselves were fairly minimalist with one chase, a harpsichord, a few chairs and a changing array of paintings. The walls of the space, which simply became a different room in a different house based on the arrangement of the limited furniture, looked as if they belonged in the paintings themselves, they were so artfully done. The colors were warm but not flashy and lit by candlelight they added to the intimate feel. Because, yes, this show was lit largely by candlelight. There were chandeliers with rings of candles on them, that lowered and rose as the amount of light was needed. Actors carried around large candlesticks in evening scenes, just as they would have in the pre-French revolution period that the show is set in. The dramatic lighting and sharp contrasts this provided really highlighted the betrayal and intrigue that is the at the heart of the production.
(I will not be talking about the show scene by scene but there may be some SPOILERS for those who have not seen the play)
Photo Credit (from UMS website): Johan Persson
This visual beauty was equally matched by the chemistry of the two leads. Janet McTeer and Dominic West, who play La Marquise de Merteuil and Le Vicomte de Valmont respectively, were both stunning. They were flirtatious, scornful, malicious, tender, brutally honest, humorous, and charming; usually all at the same time. At first their relationship was so much fun and it was the never-can-be-quite- platonic relationship of old lovers. Which just added a feeling of excitement to all their interactions. But it seemed for the most part, their cruel game of seduction and wits was more the reason for their friendship than their attraction for each other. That and the always lively banter.
Janet McTeer was especially striking. Dominic West left nothing to be desired; he played the charming bad boy with ruckus charm. No, it’s simply that I found the story and development of his character less intriguing. As a modern audience member, and I have no doubt in almost any period, I felt I’d seen it all before: the man who likes to sleep around but never really finds love in his string of lovers till one woman “changes” him and he gets in over his head. On the other hand, La Marquise de Merteuil in her time, and even now, was extremely fascinating. McTeer really made the character her own, capitalizing on opportunities to incorporate real humor, not even just malicious amusement, into La Marquise.
Photo Credit (from UMS website): Johan Persson
La Marquise used her knowledge of the patriarchal system to manipulate people, not just men, for her amusement and pleasure. She was able to find agency and, as she pointed out, it is necessary for women to be more skillful in this than men. While at first amazing and amusing, her ability and commitment to this manipulation slowly grew more and more disturbing. At one of my favorite lines of the show La Marquise said “I was born to dominate your sex, and avenge mine”, McTeer was particularly scary.
While I enjoyed that line, and still do frankly, I find its place within the show interesting to say the least. While for a time to a viewer this might appear true, as the play progresses and her obsession with revenge on an old lover and fear that Valmonte may no longer love her, slowly lead the audience members to question how she thought she was avenging anyone but herself. The same holds true for Valmont, though he proved less adept to the game. Perhaps the first very disturbing example of this was when, in Valmont’s seduction of the innocent
Photo Credit (from UMS website): Johan Persson
Cecile, he forced himself on her, telling her she couldn’t go to her mother because this could ruin her reputation. When Cecile confided in La Marquise about how upset she was and about her feeling of being violated, La Marquise told her basically to snap out of it. We got the sense that Cecile is supposed to be honored that she was being enlightened, and by such a master of the science of “pleasure”. Both of the main characters roles in this affair were extremely problematic: First, Valmont raping Cecile is very different from willing bedding a lot of women and showed a very different side of his character (even if this time period didn’t define rape as we do today). It’s the first time we saw some of the power he enjoyed exercising, so clearly. Secondly, by condoning and actually encouraging this interaction to both Valmont and Cecile, how was La Marquise avenging her sex by putting its fellow members at the mercy of men who could overpower them?
The next instance when audiences really realized La Marquise had lost it washer basically demanding that Valmont leave the women he loves. She has begun to realize Valmont actually loves his latest conquest and La Marquise’s jealousy is overpowering.Things advance and his latest conquest ends of being one of the many lives she ruins. Janet McTeer’s portrayal throughout this was natural and deceptively cunning, after her character; at moments her power of the stage and her character’s of the situation were daunting.
One thing I missed until the show basically threw it in my face, was the very numerous appearance of cards. They were used as prop pieces throughout the entire show, whenever someone needed to be busy in a corner. A card game actually opened the show. At the end, the last scene is done with the remaining women holding cards, “playing” a game, and that’s when I connected the dots. It’s really ingenious because the whole show was about people playing their cards and hoping they could outmaneuver the other’s cards. This final scene, with the women holding the cards, was also the moment when La Marquise was unable to deny her defeat. All her maneuvers had been for nothing. The vanity, savagery, and jealousy, with copious amounts of humor, blended into a delicious game whose story will keep audiences enthralled for many more years to come!
National Theater Live brings scandal to the Michigan Theater, in the form of Christopher Hampton’s award winning play, Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Wednesday’s screening is a recording of a National Theater’s live performance of the play in London. This production marks the thirty year anniversary of the play, which is directed by Josie Rourke and stars a cast of Elaine Cassidy, Janet McTeer, and Dominic West.
Originally a novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, it was adapted by Christopher Hampton in 1985. It was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company with a cast that included the late Alan Rickman as the Vicomte de Valmont. It has been adapted into a film as well, titled Dangerous Liaisons that starred Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Photo Credit: Johan Persson
Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a story of intrigue, sex, morals, and manipulation. Set in pre-revolutionary France, the play follows the lives and rivalries of a group of aristocrats. As scandalizing as when the novel was first released, the play is sure to leave audiences amazed.
The screening at Michigan Theater is Wednesday, February 24th at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $22 for adults and $12 for students. The show has a runtime of 3 hours, that includes a 15 minutes intermission.
On February 19, UMS and the Michigan Theater hosted Benoit Charest and his Le Terrible Orchestre de Belleville, who performed their “hot jazz” soundtrack to The Triplets of Belleville alongside the film.
Photo courtesy of the artist; from UMS website
This iconic film from 2003 follows a woman whose grandson was kidnapped by the mafia while racing in the Tour de France. With a zany crew of companions, including a spacey dog and the Triplets of Belleville, three elderly ladies who used to be popular singers, she embarks on an adventure to find him.
I, unlike one of our other writers who reviewed this same event, new nothing about this film or its soundtrack going into the event. I was captivated by its bold, clever, and unconventional animation and narrative techniques. The drawings emphasized the diversity and idiosyncrasies of human beings; oversized noses, lopsided bodies, buck teeth and all. The film contained no dialogue and thus invited the viewer to read into the film closely.
The soundtrack fit the film like a glove, capturing its spunk, poignancy, and occasional darkness in full. It was both accessible and extremely intricate; while being emotionally direct and easily enjoyable, it was often experimental with texture, rhythm, and harmony.
One of the scenes in which this was most evident in the scene in which the grandmother is accompanying The Triplets on a wheel, slightly offsetting the rhythmic pulse of the original song, “Belleville Rendez-Vous” and incorporating a Bach melody. The musicians performed this live, slipping into the voices characters of The Triplets and nailing the tricky rhythms.
Other songs, like the original “Belleville Rendez-Vous,” “Pa Pa Pa Palavas,” and “Generique d’ouverture” were purely fun and catchy. The musicians maintained a bright, contagious energy during these upbeat tracks.
I was deeply impressed by the ease and virtuosity the Benoit Charest and Le Terrible Orchestre de Belleville brought to the concert. There were times while I was watching in which I forgot that the music was being performed live; it melded so well with the film and brought it to life as one, cohesive entity.
Friday evening found the Michigan Theater packed with an audience of all ages. “The Triplets of Belleville” equally captivates those who are seeing it for the first time and those who grew up watching it. This internationally acclaimed film continues to delight its viewers.
(I will not be reviewing the movie itself or providing a plot description. For more information on the actual film check out it’s Wikipedia page.)
Before the Show
The unique animation that characterizes the movie was at times, figuratively and literally, overpowered by the fantastic 8-piece orchestra. It was led by Benoit Charest, performing his original hot jazz score which he composed for the film over a decade ago. Having seen the film before, I was aware during the performance that the music was at times a lot louder than it was in that particular moment in the movie, but it only served to enhance the experience. Unsurprisingly, having the music live added an increased depth to the entire movie, as the music plays a vital part in the storytelling.
I was so amused to watching the musicians play: they were just having so much fun! At one point, during the scene where the now “has-been” triplets revive their famous “Belleville Rendez-vous” song, Charest and two of his musicians not only played the score but also performed the choreographed movement along with the triplets, their onscreen counterparts. This unique interaction between film and live performace was used again during a musical concert the triplets, and now the grandmother, performed in a restaurant. In the film they rustled newspaper, made noise with a vacuum cleaner, played the spokes of a bicycle, and plucked at grates of refrigerator shelves. While the orchestra did not bring a refrigerator on stage, they made use of an assortment of other percussion instruments with Benoit Charest on the newspaper. They swayed, stamped, clapped, and snapped as their classic jazz filled the Michigan Theater.
Rudely, large amounts of the audience started leaving during the credits, as many do after a movie screening (I think my parents are the odd ones out who made their kids sit through all agonizingly slow non-action packed minutes of the credits). So they missed the real finale. The music for the credits featured a reprise of “Belleville Rendez-vous”, the most famous song from the show, and the musicians let loose and ended their show with a powerful bang!
Friday, February 19th Michigan Theater will be screening “The Triplets of Belleville”, a fun and quirky animated film. This will be no ordinary screening though. Benoit Charest, along with his eight-piece orchestra, will be performing the score live! It’s been a decade since Charest originally created this music but it’s ability to tell an incredible story remains unaffected. The score features a large amount of jazz, which reflects the background of the three rather eccentric jazz singers who weave their way through the story. The film follows a Tour de France cyclist, his grandmother, his dog, and of course, the triplets of Belleville.
Photo Courtesy of Artist from the UMS website
I first saw this film in a high school french class. Not even knowing that it was a widely known film and had been nominated for multiple Academy Awards, I was struck by the unique way it told a story. Having live music I’m sure will offer a new dimension of appreciation to what has become an iconic movie.
Recap: Friday, February 18th at 8:00 pm in the Michigan Theater screens “The Triplets of Belleville.
