When art copies life copies art.
Jeanine (Amanda Seyfried – “I Don’t Understand You”) has an opportunity to re-mount the opera “Salome,” a piece that she worked on with her deceased mentor, Charles, years before. She leaps at the chance.
However, she faces several obstacles.
Charles’ estate, represented by his wife (Lanette Ware – “The Fire Inside”), insists the remount be the same as the successful production of years past, while Jeanine yearns to put her own stamp on it.
Some of the operatic principals contracted to appear in this production also worked on the previous one, and resist the changes Jeanine wishes to make.
There is a behind-the-scenes effort by the props technician to put her lover, Rachel (Vinessa Antoine – “the Wall Street Boy”), the understudy for Salome, into the role for at least one performance, against the wishes of Ambur (Ambur Braid – “Hadrian”). The singer playing John the Baptist, Johan (Michael Kupher-Radecky – “Der Vampyr”), is a sexual predator, and the understudy for his role, Luke (Douglas Smith – “Exposure”), is a friend and schoolmate of Jeanine’s.
As if all these weren’t enough to deal with, Jeanine has some issues with her later father, Harold (Ryan McDonald – “The King Tide”) stemming from his possible abuse of her when she was a child and intertwined with her relationship with Charles. Plus, Jeanine’s husband, Paul (Mark O’Brien – “Blue Bayou”), is having an open affair with her mother’s caregiver.
Wow.
Writer/director/producer Atom Egoyan (“Guest of Honor”) has given us a visual, emotion peek into the melodrama behind the mounting of a highly-charged opera dealing with shifting relationships, sexual and emotional intrigue, and professional frustration – all operating under the pressure to get an opera ready for opening night.
Cinematographer Paul Sarossy (“Irena’s Vow”) gives us some gorgeous imagery, including an especially portentous one while the opening credits are still running, Jeanine is walking through the backstage areas of the opera house and into a space where a singer is rehearsing with a pianist. On a huge screen in that area are two overlain projections, one of a forest and the other of a girl walking through that forest. Jeanine walks over to the projection, placing her shadow precisely over the forest projection while not blocking the girl’s. The result is three images – the vastness of the forest, the black shadow of Jeanine, and within that the golden image of the girl walking. Finally, Jeanine turns toward the camera so we also see the forest projection playing across her face. It is memorable, and through it Egoyan sets the scene for all that is to follow.
As writer, Egoyan blends the erotic/antagonistic elements of “Salome” with those of Jeanine’s childhood and her current marital stresses, giving us an opera without song within the classic setting of Oscar Wilde’s opus.
As director, through his players, he gets the drive to succeed, the anguish of relationships, and the frustration of events moving beyond ones control, perfectly balanced.
This is not an easy film to watch, but it is well worth it.
Runtime: One hour, 47 minutes
Availability: Currently in theaters
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