You have to be in a particular mood to be able to get into this filmed TV version of the Chekhov play that first appeared in Russia in 1904 but didn't get an English language translation until the 1930s. I had seen two versions of this on stage, walking out of one way off Broadway and staying for the recent roundabout production which was easier to get into rather than one performed in someone's living room. It's not an easy play to understand unless you pay full attention and don't get it distracted, but when Dame Judi Dench is on screen, that is very difficult. I did not discover her until several years later, and even then, I didn't realize I was watching a stage Legend. Only after she had moved exclusively into film was I aware of her power which she shows here as the very vulnerable matriarch of a formerly wealthy family who has lost everything and must face an uncertain future while giving up everything that they have known.
There are many political discussions here as I think about the property is going to be divided among the serfs who have worked the land, and the resentment of the serfs towards certain members of the upper class brings on a lot of social discussion that ironically would become very relevant in Russia's history just a decade later. Judi is transcendent and is surrounded by a sensational cast of British actors who really recreate a difficult time in Russian history and even bring about sympathy towards the Russian nobility who will have to make grave changes.
While the production is filmed, it has an almost videotaped like quality that gives it a very intimate viewpoint and seems that really require that. I would have to study Chekhov for years to fully have a great understanding of all the characters and their motivations and the metaphors in the script, so I am doing this based purely on Dench's performance as well as its ensemble, showing the class structure of the time where you can feel sorry for certain members of both sides and despise certain others on each side as well.
There are many political discussions here as I think about the property is going to be divided among the serfs who have worked the land, and the resentment of the serfs towards certain members of the upper class brings on a lot of social discussion that ironically would become very relevant in Russia's history just a decade later. Judi is transcendent and is surrounded by a sensational cast of British actors who really recreate a difficult time in Russian history and even bring about sympathy towards the Russian nobility who will have to make grave changes.
While the production is filmed, it has an almost videotaped like quality that gives it a very intimate viewpoint and seems that really require that. I would have to study Chekhov for years to fully have a great understanding of all the characters and their motivations and the metaphors in the script, so I am doing this based purely on Dench's performance as well as its ensemble, showing the class structure of the time where you can feel sorry for certain members of both sides and despise certain others on each side as well.