Review of Barrymore (2012) by Bryan M — 22 Jul 2013

Barrymore is a filmed version of the theatrical, one-man show classic. Starring Christopher Plummer in the role he perfected on Broadway, this version is both incredibly faithful to its theatrical counterpart, but also takes some liberties with the visuals.

Even though Erik Canuel is unafraid to play with the visual presentation of the film, I personally don't think that he did enough with it. There are long sections where it's simply the play as is, but when Plummer goes off on tangents concerning childhood and regret, he may step into his childhood home for a look around in black and white, and then back to the stage again.

I just don't feel like there are enough of these moments to keep things visually interesting. So it may not be all that interesting visually, but it's an admirable attempt to capture a virtuoso performance on film.