JEF7REY HILDNER (StoryArchitect) I saw THE SEAGULL last night at Tower Theater here in Sacramento, California. I'm glad I did. The agony of love, the agony of art . . . the pleasure and pain of human relationships and the joy and trauma of creativity--the tragic comedy of unrequited work & love. How could I not love it? I'm the sweet-spot of their target audience: a heartbroken artist.This smart, entertaining, soul-searching riff on Checkhov's play by screenwriter Stephen Karam and director Michael Mayer looks and sounds beautiful on film.I burst into a catharsis induced cry at the crucial moment, the thematic climax of the story, blissfully blindsided by the storytellers' beautiful insight into what it takes to be an artist. Once again, I experienced the power of art to lift me up and help me soar when my wings feel clipped or I feel shot down.My Silver Knight Rating of THE SEAGULL--White Knight (Form): 7.5Black Knight (Story): 8.0= Silver Knight (Form & Story): 7.757.75 CamerasThe Silver Knight Rating scores a movie's level of play in what I call the Chess Game of Art. (See my IMDb commentary on ARRIVAL.)

xopollo This was one of best artful camera work, soundtrack, acting and directing I have seen in a long time. All women's characters are in the foreground and are so well developed, so different, so rich, so interesting ... with something peculiar about each one of them. The camera was seeing every woman with love.... bravo!Annette Benning is such a vulnerable, profound, complex, genius and tender comic. Please crown this regal actor - she is perfection...Costumes!!!! Spectacular... - Oscars due!!!! Exquisite execution.... eye candy... The garments are big players in this film. >> Appreciate what an important role a bustier plays in the scene where Gorina is begging her lover to not leave her: touching, funny, embarrassing, sexy, paradoxically perfect. The men were terrific too, and in the ensemble, I did care about all of the characters. The Seagull delivers to the viewers pure tender pleasure to revel in human drama of love while allowing them to chuckle at least a dozen times in the comedy of life.

bondscammer 'The Seagull' is an entertaining adaptation of the Chekhov classic. Though the parts are greater than the sum, in this case, it's more than enough to recommend this as best enjoyed as a comedy ensemble piece about misplaced love and the misunderstandings that follow. Honestly, I went to see this for my favorite actress, Saoirse Ronan. And she soars in this! She plays a pivotal role, Nina Zarechnaya, who, as you will see when you watch this, is the living metaphor behind the titular meaning. Soarse is photographed as effervescent and luminous; and is stunning. Who wouldn't believe any man of any age wouldn't fall for her! I did, too! Saoirse perfectly shows Nina's naive determination to seduce Trigorin in exchange for similar fame as he has. The price of losing the young man who loves her, Konstantin, doesn't sway her ambitions. The film's coda allows Saoirse to show the end result of her ruthless determination to gain fame at any cost; and the results will break your heart as it did mine. Saoirse is absolutely brilliant here; as she transitions to mature adult roles. Overall, all of the characters endure their own love missteps and confusion, to both humorous and bittersweet results. Annette Bening is terrific as the aging actress, Irina, as is forever melancholy and bitter Masha, played by Elizabeth Moss, who crackles and has some great lines she vigorously chews thru! A great cast where the women stand out in all their parts and the men dutifully acquiesce.

GManfred I wish I could have taken a course on Russian Playwrights when I was in college, that way I could have some insight into Chekhov's psyche. Absent that, I will do my best with "The Seagull", one of Chekhov's most famous plays. As I said in the heading, it is about relationships, and peculiar in that everyone involved loves someone else. Without going into dizzying detail, this labyrinthine nature of the plot requires concentration, in the absence of a scorecard.The overall mood of the play is gloom and despair, as though love casts a pall over the proceedings. It is 1904, at a Russian mountain resort. Without going into painful detail (just read the website's storyline), there are at least four unhappy couples with their hearts in pain, and the main star is Annette Bening, who gives a terrific performance as an aging actress trying to stay young. Elisabeth Moss is a name I am unfamiliar with but she was excellent as a woman desperately in love with Bening's son (Billy Howle, out of his element here), who is in love with Saoirse Ronan. I'll stop here before it becomes confusing.All in all, the film is handsomely mounted and, as far as I can tell, faithful to the material. I wish I could have generated more feeling for the principals involved, but I grew restless waiting for an impactful scene.