Based on the titular play by Henrik Ibsen and the stage production directed by André Gregory from a translation by Wallace Shawn, A Master Builder marks the third screen collaboration between playwright/actor Shawn and stage director/actor Gregory, who teamed up in My Dinner with Andre over 30 years ago and reunited for Vanya on 42nd Street, both of which were directed by Louis Malle, who died in 1995. Jonathan Demme steps in to helm this more conventional film that updates the setting but retains the 19th-century attitude and chamber drama atmosphere. Shawn plays architect Halvard Solness—a classic Ibsen monster. Egotistical and vain, Solness justifies the suffering that he has inflicted on family, friends, and employees as a part of the cost of success and he plays power games by keeping everyone in their place until the unannounced arrival of an impossibly young and adoring girl (Lisa Joyce), who is like an angel nudging him to do right by those he has tormented and trapped. Demme films the action in a surreally stripped-down setting that feels like a vacant house hurriedly furnished with stage props. While this approach helps keep the focus on the actors, it also fails to give the film a life of its own beyond being a stage translation recorded for posterity. Even so, this is well worth adding (it's also available in the boxed set André Gregory & Wallace Shawn: 3 Films, which also includes the previously mentioned collaborations). Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a conversation with producers/costars André Gregory and Wallace Shawn and author Fran Lebowitz (53 min.), interviews with director Jonathan Demme, Gregory, and Shawn conducted by film critic David Edelstein (34 min.), interviews with costars Julie Hagerty and Lisa Joyce (34 min.), and an essay by film critic Michael Sragow. Bottom line: a fine extras package for this acting showcase.] (S. Axmaker)
A Master Builder
Criterion, 127 min., not rated, DVD: $29.95, <span class=SpellE>Blu</span>-ray: $39.95, June 16 Volume 30, Issue 5
A Master Builder
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