You have to work at it to screw Checkhov and though Conor McPherson does his best the actors remain loyal to Checkhov and the David Mamet adaptation coupled with Louis Malle's direction is still the movie version to beat. Although the smart money says The Cherry Orchard is Checkov's piece de resistance I have always had a soft spot for Vanya and this new version weighing in at two and a half hours does nothing to make me change my mind. Filming live performances in a theatre has come a long way since Richard Burton's Hamlet and this is a triumph of the genre.
Review of Uncle Vanya
