Film #114: Vanya on 42nd Street

It's Anton Chekov's naked sadness that finally makes Louis Malle's Vanya on 42nd Street so superlative. However, the trouble with doing the play on film is that with the excitement of a live performance absent, the picture might seem dull to audience members who aren't in step with this pure-bred brand of Russian fatalism. That's why Malle's choice to record one of Andre Gregory's many