The Seagull Movie Download

7 / 10

A Very Fine Ensemble in a Traditional Interpretation
Shortly before his death in 1904, the playwright Anton Chekhov confessed to a friend that he hoped that his plays might have an appeal for possibly as long as seven years. It never occurred to him that his four dramatic masterpieces would draw such universal interest that they would become as timeless as the prehistoric creatures described in Konstantin’s play that opens “The Seagull.”

A shortcoming of this otherwise excellent film adaptation was the overly literal approach to Chekhov’s text. The interpretations of the different love relationships were telegraphed to the degree that nothing was left to the imagination. The film artists did not appear to recognize that the strength of Chekhov is that the character interactions are ambiguous. As in life, anything is possible at any given moment.

For some reason, the filmmakers chose to rewrite Chekhov in assigning Konstantin a capsule summary of Nina’s affair with Trigorin, her loss of the baby, her eventual rejection by the callous Trigorin, and her erratic work on the stage as a clumsy actress. But in the playscript, those details are conveyed by Nina herself while in such a state of delirium that it would be inadvisable to take all of her words at face value.

The literal approach extended to the other character relationships in which nearly every interaction was a melodramatic confession of unrequited love. Once again, Chekhov was approaching drama in the way that life unfolds with constant uncertainty of a vulnerable human being who is unwilling to reveal too much about his or her true feelings. One element that was missed was the potential for irony or even comedy. The only character interpretation that included this dimension was that of the uncle character Sorin, whose death always seems imminent, yet he continues apace as strong as an ox!

The locations, the costumes, and the performances in this film were superb. The performance of the actor playing Konstantin was especially memorable. There was more of the complexity and an arc of development to his role that made this Konstantin so memorable.

It is worth comparing this film with a 1975 made-for-television version of “The Seagull” with a sublime performance by Blythe Danner as Nina. With Chekhov, any production of one of his plays will be unique to the degree that it is almost like experiencing a completely different play. This 2018 version was earnest and especially well-acted, but lacked the nuance and complexity of Chekhov’s interior life.Read More