Review: Oleanna
Blu-ray: Oleanna (1994)
Writer/director David Mamet brings to the screen his play ‘Oleanna’, which debuted onstage in 1992 and starred William H. Macy and Rebecca Pidgeon in the 2 lead roles.
2 years later and Macy is still cast as college professor John, while Debra Eisenstadt replaces Pidgeon as Carol; one of John’s students.
Oleanna stays true to its stage based beginnings in not only the minimal cast, but also in its reliance on the wordplay between the 2 leads, rather than any kind of onscreen action. The hyper-realistic vocal performances may well be off-putting to some viewers who are used to a more naturalistic style of speaking, but there is no doubt that Oleanna’s narrative force is driven by the verbal jousting between John and Carol; each one of them often repeating themselves, or interrupting what the other has to say.
When Carol enters John’s office to discuss her course mark, she overhears a telephone conversation between him and his wife. So begins a war of words that escalates with each passing minute.
Accused by Carol of sexual harassment, John is forced into difficult decisions on how to handle the matter, which culminates in an intense final act.
Oleanna is a movie which invokes discussion. Demands discussion. Watching this alone will prompt you to either watch it again with friends (preferably of the opposite sex) or seek out others who have already watched it. Political correctness, sexuality and sex, femininity, masculinity, all of this and more will be brought to the fore after watching.
Oleanna may well lose some viewers interest early on with its 2 character structure, claustrophobic locations and stilted dialogue. But if you let yourself be drawn into its world, there is a story here that will drag you along by your fingernails to the very last minute.
A thought provoking entry into the Indicator series of movies from Powerhouse Films.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES:
• High Definition remaster
• Original stereo audio
• Power Play (2018, 18 mins): new and exclusive interview with award-winning actor William H Macy who recalls working with David Mamet on the controversial stage and screen versions of Oleanna
• The Understudy (2018, 11 mins): new and exclusive interview with actor and director Debra Eistenstadt who discusses her role and the experience of working with Mamet and Macy
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional photography and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive 32-page booklet with a new essay by Rebecca Nicole Williams, an examination of the controversy surrounding the play and the film, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
• World premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited Edition of 3,000 copies
Oleanna is released on 27th August 2018 and you can buy it by clicking HERE. ALL money raised by purchasing from Amazon via our website is given back to our listeners and followers in upcoming competition prizes. The more people buy, the bigger our prizes.
Review by Dave (host of 60 Minutes With) from a disc kindly supplied by Powerhouse Films.
