ABOVE AVERAGE

ART TRANSCENDS LIFE.

As Broadway star Lillian Hall (Jessica Lange) is rehearsing a new production of Chekhov’s ”The Cherry Orchard”, she struggles with her lines and gets an inevitable update from her doctor.

Writer Elisabeth Seldes Annacone was inspired by the fate of her aunt, stage actress Marian Seldes, and the result is a moving and at times funny portrait of the early stages of dementia. In this case, the star also deals with memories of how she was treated as a child, and how she let her career affect the relationship with her own daughter.

Borderline too schmaltzy, but Lange makes the most out of her showy role, and gets wonderful help from Kathy Bates as a no-nonsense assistant.

2024-U.S. 110 min. Color-B/W. Directed by Michael Cristofer. Teleplay: Elisabeth Seldes Annacone. Cast: Jessica Lange (Lillian Hall), Kathy Bates (Edith Wilson), Lily Rabe (Margaret Tanner), Jesse Williams, Pierce Brosnan, Michael Rose. 

Trivia: Co-executive produced by Lange and Bates. Meryl Streep was initially considered for the lead. Released theatrically in several countries.

Last word: “The opportunity to do a film about the theater world, I thought was really fascinating. You look at the classics like Cassavetes’s Opening Night or All About Eve – just the idea of being able to go into the world of the theater and really film it in a truthful way, I thought was a great opportunity. The character, she’s flawed, but most characters are. She’s also very brave and I think she has a lot of courage. She makes huge mistakes, but she also perseveres and has a great sense of commitment to the theater.” (Lange, Vanity Fair)