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Brian d'Arcy James
is offering an exciting reprise of his 2001 Obie award-winning
performance in the Los Angeles premiere of "The Good Thief."
Written with cold, cutting honesty by Conor McPherson ("The
Weir"), this one-man showcase enables James to prove how expert
criminals are at rationalizing, and how rarely they view
themselves as villains. His forceful, unflinching expose of a
murderer's mind embraces these ambiguities, deriving impact from
McPherson's spare, brutally blunt dialogue. The finest aspect of
this searingly straightforward portrayal is the actor's refusal to
rely on charm, gimmickry or over-the-top evil.
James plays a paid
Irish thug, hired by boss Joe Murray to "scare" people, set fire
to places and shoot if necessary. Nursing hatred for Murray, who
has stolen his girlfriend Greta, he nevertheless agrees to a
seemingly simple job. It goes disastrously wrong, resulting in an
orgy of violence. James (never named as a character) flees from
the law and mob vengeance with the dead victim's wife and
daughter.
Details of their
efforts to evade capture keep suspense escalating. The plot is
effective and functional, but not remarkable, nor are the story
twists a major surprise. McPherson's triumph is creating a
character both repellent and understandable. James establishes
this character through a combination of rage and dark humor; he
shows jealousy by baring his teeth and biting into the line "I
hate people with skills."
The star varies his
speech patterns without overemphasis, pushing ahead with
rapid-fire intensity, then pulling back. The effect, thanks in
part to Carl Forsman's dynamic direction, is that of shining a
flashlight on the protagonist's mind and revealing all his
jumbled, contradictory thoughts.
A few plot strands
feel uncomfortable. Much is made of James' obsessive devotion to
Greta, but her personality is both remote and sleazy. Even
granting that love makes no logical sense, the attachment never
pays off emotionally for the viewer. McPherson builds a moving
relationship between James and a fellow prisoner, and when the two
are forced to separate, James projects much deeper and more
painful longings for his friend than for the faithless Greta.
Play's ending, which
suggests redemption and makes a bid for sympathy, violates the
hard-hitting spirit of the piece. But James handles this
sentimentality with such a sense of belief that he compels us to
share his feelings. Flashing a sudden, unsettlingly radiant smile,
one he has withheld throughout the evening, the actor breaks into
tears of remorse as his buried humanity forces its way to the
surface.
Josh Bradford's
lighting skillfully records every shifting mood. Sound by Stefan
Jacobs is low-key, ominous and perfectly positioned to foreshadow
the final tragedy.
Sets, Nathan Heverin; costumes, Theresa Squire; sound, Stefan
Jacobs; lights, Josh Bradford. Opened and reviewed Jan. 25, 2003;
closes Feb. 23. Running time: 60 MIN. |
