Dramatic Science... and some sidetracking
Aaron Sorkin (West Wing, Studio 60) tries to bring to life the real-life story of two passionate people racing to develop television. Philo Farnsworth (Jimmi Simpson) is a child prodigy growing up in Idaho. David Sarnoff (Hank Azaria) is an immigrant who escaped Russia and became the head of RCA. Each man narrates the life of the other, chapter by chapter. The story works well when the two men are pitted against each other in a race to find the scientific breakthrough that will become television. I found Farnsworth's quest to build his laboratory team in California fascinating. The desperate measures Sarnoff seems to employ are rather desperate but perhaps Sorkin found that more dramatic. I would have prefered the writing focus on the beauty of scientific discovery - even how Farnsworth's brother-in-law figured out how to form the cathode tube becomes thrilling and triumphal in this play. But so often the story is derailed with the superfluous, like a moment to define the stock crash or audience winking dialog reflecting on the absurd pontifications on what TV will do if invented. While these moments may get a snicker from the audience or an acknowledgment of the intellect of the writer, they do nothing to advance the story, and often distract from the momentum and energy of the rivalry. Azaria and Simpson do fine jobs as do most of the supporting cast. The one horrible exception is Nadia Bowers' performance as Mrs. Sarnoff among others. Her French accent is horrid and every expression on stage exaggerate to the point of annoyance. If only a few rewrites and this one casting change were made, I truly think a superb play would bloom. But this bud, picked too soon, fails to open to full potential.
2 comments:
An anonymous person took offense at my harsh criticism of Ms. Bower's performance. I decided not to post the full comment given the writers personal insults to me, even questioning my right to review anything. While I am sure many tastes and performances resonate differently depending on perspective, I've always liked discourse and disagreement when it comes to commenting on art. When it diverges into personal insult and not a review of the merits of the art, play or movie, I take the liberty of cutting that dialog off.
I actually thought Ms. Bower did a descent job in the support role as Mary Pickford but I was very distracted by her performance of Mrs. Sarnoff. I'm always open to watching any performer in other roles and hope I get the chance to see her shine in another role. The commenter really like her in Doubt and Tempest, both of which I missed but wanted others to know about.
From the anonymous commenter, "Is FARNSWORTH INVENTION perfect, by no means, but it certainly does not lay at the feet of this young woman. Several cast members in this production should be encouraged to invest deeper, speak louder, and have the basic spacial saavy to know where their bodies are in space in relation to the audience and stop physically upstaging themselves, [the] shortcomings ... are the fault of many in this ensemble."
Post a Comment