A Trio of Actresses Soar in The Seagull

In 1896, the opening night of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull was a famous failure. Two years later, a production at the Moscow Arts Theatre was a success, and the play has gone on to be produced countless times in theatrical venues around the world (one production was part of the Central Park’s Shakespeare Festival in 2001 with a cast that included Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Natalie Portman). The play inspired creative interpretations such as Aaron Posner’s Stupid F***ing Bird. There have also been films, including Sidney Lumet’s 1968 The Sea Gull, as well as Christian Camargo’s 2014 Days and Nights.

The newest film, directed by Michael Mayer, benefits from a strong cast, particularly the three lead actresses: Annette Bening, as the diva, Irina Arkadina; Saoirse Ronan, as the naive aspiring actress, Nina; and Elisabeth Moss, as love starved Masha. Mare Winningham plays Masha’s mother, Polina. Corey Stoll gives a nuanced performance as Boris Trigorin, a famous writer who prone to posturing is, nonetheless, insecure and easily manipulated by Irina. Billy Howle is heartbreaking and frustrating as Irina’s son Konstantin, who struggles to make it as a writer in the face of his mother’s constant putdowns. Also present for the unfolding drama is Dr. Yevgeny Dorn (Jon Tenney), who tries to bolster Konstantin’s self esteem by praising everything the young man writes. 

Longing for love and acceptance are the themes of The Seagull. The teacher Mikhail (Michael Zegen) is in love with Masha while she pines after Konstantin, while he pursues Nina, who is smitten with Boris being controlled by Irina. No one, it seems will ever find true happiness, only misery. 

Brian Dennehy

The Seagull is set on a country estate outside Moscow owned by Irina’s brother, Sorin (Brian Dennehy). While stage plays require the audience to envision the idyllic setting, the film places the lush landscape and glittering lake on the big screen. (The Seagull was filmed in  upstate New York. Cinematography is by Matthew J. Lloyd.) Besides the setting, the costumes, created by Ann Roth, especially Bening’s gowns, are spectacular. 

Annette Bening

Mayer chose to open the film with what transpires in the play’s fourth act – Irina rushing home because Sorin is critically ill. (While mystery writers often use this technique to signal a future crime, this set up is less effective here.) We then flash back two years earlier finding Irina returning to the country estate after a triumphant performance in Moscow. Konstantin is eager to present to the family, but really to his mother, his new play with Nina as the lead. Irina, however, loudly disparages her son’s work and he soon tears down the curtain and retreats into the woods. Irina won’t win any mother of the year awards and, thankfully, the release of this film wasn’t timed to Mother’s Day. Her animosity towards her son is never explained, so we are left to attribute her anger to jealousy, concern that her son’s success may eclipse her own, and perhaps just mere inconvenience, having to think about anyone but herself.

Chekhov doesn’t create likable characters, yet his plays create roles that are sought after by the best of the best. (The  actresses that have played Irina reads like a Hollywood who’s who.) The three actresses in this production join that impressive list with performances that resonate.

Top photo: Saoirse Ronan and Corey Stoll
Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures Classic