Description:
David Mamet's hot-button stage work comes to the screen, with Mamet at the directing helm and all of the play's provocations intact. It's a sinister two-hander, with William H. Macy as a smug college professor and Debra Eisenstadt as a desperate student who's struggling in his class. When the story moves to its second act, the twin specters of sexual harassment and political correctness are raised, forcing us to reassess the argument we've been watching. Brilliantly tooled as a stage workout, Oleanna loses something in its transfer to the screen, although it is always bracing to see Macy create one of his meticulous portraits o
David Mamet's hot-button stage work comes to the screen, with Mamet at the directing helm and all of the play's provocations intact. It's a sinister two-hander, with William H. Macy as a smug college professor and Debra Eisenstadt as a desperate student who's struggling in his class. When the story moves to its second act, the twin specters of sexual harassment and political correctness are raised, forcing us to reassess the argument we've been watching. Brilliantly tooled as a stage workout, Oleanna loses something in its transfer to the screen, although it is always bracing to see Macy create one of his meticulous portraits of a less-than-heroic man. Mamet's ear for the absurdities of late-twentieth-century jargon (especially of the politicized variety) is mercilessly accurate, and in this ticked-off look at the intricacies of a power play, he gives you an earful. --Robert Horton
From OscarÂ(r)-nominated* writer-director David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross) comes this chillingly provocative, incisive drama that dissects the controversial issue of sexual harassmentfrom every emotionally wrenching side of the equation. When a college professor about to be tenured (William H. Macy, Fargo) meets a struggling student (Debra Eisenstadt) behind closed doors,their conversation yields only mutual misunderstanding and a charge of sexual harassment. And as their mutual antipathy turns ugly, it destroys lives, derails careers and ultimately leads to a cataclysmic event that no one ever expected! *1997: Adapted Screenplay, Wag the Dog (with Hilary Henkin); 1982: Adapted Screenplay, The Verdict
... (more)
(less)
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Release date: 16 September 2003
Number of discs: 1
EAN: 9780792858171 UPC: 027616895363
My tags:
Add tags
Login
