Lange, Brosnan, Bates: performances like these never get old

The Advertiser

07-06-2025

This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness.
It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here.
Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph.
But lately, strange things have been happening.
She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines.
Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced?
Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well.
Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role.
The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses.
There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it.
Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations.
Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment.
If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch.
This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness.
It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here.
Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph.
But lately, strange things have been happening.
She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines.
Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced?
Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well.
Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role.
The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses.
There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it.
Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations.
Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment.
If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch.
This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness.
It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here.
Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph.
But lately, strange things have been happening.
She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines.
Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced?
Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well.
Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role.
The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses.
There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it.
Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations.
Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment.
If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch.
This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness.
It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here.
Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph.
But lately, strange things have been happening.
She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines.
Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced?
Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well.
Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role.
The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses.
There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it.
Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations.
Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment.
If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch.