It starts well enough. Patrick Stewart marches onscreen as Tobi: a sassy, commanding dance teacher, all polo necks and high expectations. Inside the dance studio, in freezing cold New York, he barks instructions at his rising stars at the bar. Stewart’s characterisation is rich and full; Tobi’s professional confidence goes hand-in-hand with his self-enforced exile. He shrugs off social engagements for long evenings spent knitting at home.
His quick-witted flamboyance masks his loneliness well, but begins to unravel when his solitude is interrupted by the arrival of Lisa (Carla Gugino) and her husband Mike (Matthew Lillard). The mismatched pair arrive to interview Tobi about his life in the heyday of the 1960s dance world. Lisa tells him the interview will inform her dissertation, but as the questions turn increasingly personal and both characters struggle to keep up the facade, the ulterior motives of the meeting are exposed.
Directed by Stephen Belber, Match is the film adaption of his play, which hit Broadway in 2004 and launched his career. The script may be original, even surprising, but its reliance on the explosive energy of close proximity and live tension makes it totally unsuitable for film. It never escapes its theatrical roots, the fourth wall made achingly present by the minimal effort to relocate from Tobi’s apartment. This single setting would serve well onstage, not only by simplifying stage management, but also providing a claustrophobic space, allowing the three characters to fizz with tension and feed off the audience’s energy, finally exploding with all the efficiency of a pressure cooker.
But in film, it is debilitating. We feel stuck, not complicit. The intense focus on dialogue and subtext of conversation is too subtle. It results in the audience struggling to concentrate on the exchange, which chases its tail in circles. The final dramatic moment, when Mike – who suspects Tobi of holding a secret relevant to his own past – becomes forceful, is terrifying and unpleasant. The violation is akin to rape and Tobi’s withdrawal into silent shame is heartbreaking.
But then, again, the fourth wall returns. The immediate calm which follows the dramatic climax feels like a natural break where act two should be. The serene conclusion – Mike’s cathartic release, Lisa’s new beginning, Tobi’s decision to embrace the vitality of life while he still can – all serves nicely to tie-up loose ends, but do nothing to help plot credibility.
While Match might prove a stunning live theatrical experience, as a film, it is wooden and forced. Despite this, Stewart’s faultless character construction of Tobi is superb and makes the film worth a watch just to see him at work.