The Sea Gull Evaluating this film by Sidney Lumet is extremely difficult. On the one hand, we have a sample of a very worthy acting game. But, on the other hand, we get an ordinary and unpretentious film performance. In the plein air, the entire text of the play is played out. There is no need to talk about directorial delights.
The main roles are played by the already made strong acting work of Lumet in “Suicide Case” Simon Signoret and James Mason, as well as Harry Andrews. They do their job well.
I don't know if I can imagine a different Arkadin than Signoret. A strong role is a powerful, destructive woman. There it is easy to get lost, start replaying, “creating acting”. But I see impeccable play. Not a single mistake, not a single “excitement” yourself. This is what I would recommend to modern fans Glenn Close or Meryl Streep. For comparison.
James Mason, for some reason, was underrated. His acting talent was exceptional. With the role he coped without any problems. He was just playing along.
I’m sure you’ll wonder why it’s so low and not too green. The thing is that when evaluating the film as a whole, I also assess the unpretentious level of production, protractedness, in fact the lack of scripting. I don’t like it when movies are made. It is time to recall the ingenuity of Vin and Murnau.
5 out of 10
