Philip Seymour Hoffman/USA/2010/91 mins
Showing @ George Sq Theatre June 19 @ 20:45 & June 21 @ 18:00
Philip Seymour Hoffman’s directorial debut is a low-key adaptation of rising playwright Robert Glaudini’s acclaimed 2007 off-broadway effort. An actor capable of drawing intense empathy for his characters, it’s no surprise to find that his pared-down directorial style does the same, with simple compositions rendered in shallow focus that cares about nothing other than what’s behind the eyes of the characters at every moment.
Retaining its original theatrical cast, Hoffman himself plays Jack, a shy, middle-aged limo driver who seeks the affections of Connie (Amy Ryan), who’s similarly hapless but more damaged. Their courting is in contrast to the degradation of the relationship between Jack’s friend Clyde (John Ortiz) and his wife Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega). Learning that Connie’s dream is to go boating, Jack begins swimming lessons with Clyde.
Plot-wise, that’s about it, but this simple framework allows Hoffman and Glaudini, adapting his own play, to chart the subtle details in the two contrasting relationships; the sensitivity and delicateness in the way Jack and Connie interact, and the reckless, resentfulness between Clyde and Lucy. At one point, Clyde teaches Jack how to overcome his fear of water by first visualising himself under it, and this simple cinematic scene holds the key to the drama; Jack and Connie’s relationship blossoms because they’re able to look ahead, while Lucy and Clyde’s breaks down because their relationship is stuck in the past. Whether it’s a comment on monogamy or human relationships in an atomised society, one thing’s certain; Hoffman knows how to render rounded, human characters.