Match

In Stephen Belber's adaptation of his own Tony Award-nominated 2004 play, Patrick Stewart stars as Tobi, a former dancer who is now a successful New York ballet instructor. Tobi is contacted by a young couple from Seattle (Matthew Lillard and Carla Gugino), who are conducting interviews for their dissertation on dance in the 1960s. But as the interviews progress, it becomes increasingly obvious that the interviewers are less interested in Tobi's contributions to dance than on a secret aspect of Tobi's biography. Giving away too much more would be a spoiler, but the uninspired adaptation and dull direction ultimately trump any sense of mystery here. Lillard and Gugino are thoroughly flat as the strange couple that disrupts Tobi's life, but Stewart valiantly tries to save the film with a full-throttle performance that runs the gamut with every imaginable emotion. Unfortunately, the excessive theatricality only further throws off-kilter this otherwise small indie film. Optional. (P. Hall)