Review of The Shape of Things (2003) by H. Paul M — 01 Apr 2009
Now that Neil LaBute is the long-overdue darling of Broadway this week with his debut "Reasons to be Pretty," and Paul Rudd has landed onto the actor's A-list, now is a great time to watch this early masterpiece -- the first of LaBute's trilogy that also includes "Fat Pig." If you have a Netflix account, the full movie streams from their site.
The playwright's unconventional moralism (he would hate that moniker) is simply and elegantly executed in the script's thematic climax, where Evelyn (having orchestrated insightful cruelty) purports to nail down Adam with straw-feminist accusation: "What you're basically saying is, I'm not a good person." Adam: "Yes, that's what I'm saying." Evelyn: "Not good compared to...you?" Adam: "No. Just not good.".
Neil LaBute -- the hulking ex-communicated ex-Mormon -- seems to stand alone in a world of mindless relativism, with his persistent memos to the world that the world is fallen (in case we forget).
This review of The Shape of Things (2003) was written by H. Paul M on 01 Apr 2009.
The Shape of Things has generally received positive reviews.
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