To review this article, select My Account, and then select View Saved Stories.
Find everything you save to your account
Rachel Syme Editor
Actress Jo Van Fleet was in her forties when she made her film debut in Elia Kazan’s “East of Eden” in 1955 and won an Oscar for the film. Even today, such a late accession to the cinematic pantheon would be a coup d’état; At the time, it was thought to be almost magical. But what gave weight to Van Fleet’s first film performance, as a sullen Salinas Valley brothel madam who abandoned her children to seek her own freedom, was the very fact that she was not naïve when she appeared in front of her. to the camera. Before becoming a movie star, she had a completely different life. Van Fleet was born in Oakland, California, and began his theater studies at the College of the Pacific. She did not make her film debut until 1944, when she played Miss Phipps in “Uncle Harry. ” But she temporarily worked her way up from the regional circuit to Shakespearean roles on Broadway; the first of her Dorcas of her in “The Winter’s Tale. ” In 1954, a year before turning to acting, she won a Tony Award for playing a green, envious matriarch in Horton Foote’s “The Trip to Bountiful. ” That’s all to say: she’s fit to meet her moment.
Now on Metrograph, you can browse Van Fleet’s IMDb page with “Also Starring. ArrayArray Jo Van Fleet,” taking place from November 17th to December 9th. The series, which takes its cheeky name from Van Fleet’s resume as a perpetual supporting actress, includes Kazan’s “East of Eden” and one of her last works, “Wild River. ” ”, as well as “Cool Hand Luke” via Stuart Rosenberg, “Gunfight at the O. K. ” via John Sturges. Corral” and Daniel Mann’s adaptation of Tennesee Williams’ “The Rose Tattoo. ” Van Fleet was asked to play one type of character: a tough, irascible woman with a perpetual scowl; However, by tracing her diverse filmographies, one can cover the entire range of mid-century cinema. Van Fleet would become bitter in her old age, complaining about being typecast and that she was never given a real chance to shine, but this brilliant collection of films proves otherwise. The headline on Van Fleet’s 1996 Times obituary said she played “proud women,” and it’s the kind of film series that would make a woman proud.
In Jen Silverman’s “Spain” (on the second stage), sublime performers Marin Ireland and Andrew Burnap, two experts in the art of appearing plucked from another era, transport us to 1936, when filmmakers, striving to do good, make a propaganda film to replace American sympathies for anti-fascist freedom fighters. It turns out that Joseph Stalin finances his film, which throws his ethical calculus out of balance. The concept that art can simply be a cat’s paw also appeared in Silverman’s very good novel “We Play Ourselves,” in which a disgruntled theater artist joins the circle of a charismatic documentary filmmaker in Los Angeles. What roles do we conceive and under whose invisible orders?The camera lens, Silverman tells us, is also a mirror. —Helen Shaw
In Showtime’s new dark comedy, “The Curse,” Whitney Siegel (Emma Stone), an aspiring real estate developer, considers her ultra-sustainable bungalows to be works of art, but the buildings are a beloved vain project, and she and her husband, Asher (Nathan Fielder), hosting an HGTV series will solve their various problems. Always attentive to the optics, they highlight the help to the chain and the conscientious efforts to stop gentrification; its producer, Dougie (Benny Safdie), would prefer to exploit the clash between his two “characters. “For an exhibition with such bare thematic ambitions, “The Curse” is strangely poignant, thanks in large part to the intensity of Asher’s emotions. It is shown as their marriage disintegrates. Fielder shows off his acting skills like never before, and Stone and Safdie act perfectly. —Inkoo Kang (Revised in our 11/20/23 issue)
Sybarite5 presents itself as a “classical-indie string quintet”. It is “eclectic”; It is “postgender”; It is, if you will, the “millennial Kronos”. What exactly that means depends on the band, who will announce their performances from the Crypt Sessions level. The quintet is set to perform portions of their new album, “Collective Wisdom,” adding Curtis and Elektra Stewart’s “Mangas,” which riffs on Greek folk dances, and Jackson Greenberg’s “Apartments,” in which audio is added with smoky improvisations. The recording also includes music by Komitas, a priest, composer and ethnomusicologist who was a victim of the Armenian genocide. His songs, rescued from oblivion, are sensual excitement in a dark place. — Fergus McIntosh (Church of the Intercession; Nov. 28-30).
Chanon Judson performing “Etude 11. ”
By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Statement. This site is made through reCAPTCHA and Google’s privacy policy and terms of service apply.
By John Seabrook
By Triana Muñoz
Sections
Plus
© 2023 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and your California Privacy Rights. The New Yorker may earn a share of sales from products purchased through our site as part of our component partnerships with retailers. Curtains from this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast. Ad Choices