Film Review: 'The Seagull'

This adaptation of the famous Anton Chekhov play called by the same title as the movie was wonderfully done. While keeping to a traditional setting, the direction of the movie was full of creativity and a real period drama aesthetic that we have all know and love.

The director Michael Mayer chose to present the play the way it would've looked when originally done. There was no modernization, which I personally love. I believe with old plays such as this, the way forward is to not try and reinvent them. Keep it classic. The movie itself had the potential, like many old plays, to get a little tiring in this day and age but it did not. The movie flew in while you were watching it and truly kept you on the edge of your seat. The direction was used well to create such a thing.

There were some moments I loved and some I truly felt uncomfortable. The repetition between the first and final scenes was beautiful. You are given a taste of how the story will end at the beginning and left sitting throughout the movie watching the ending unfold to then only see that there is more than we could imagine, with a giant (yet not unexpected) plot twist at the end.

The scene between Nina (Saoirse Ronan) and Boris Trigorin (Corey Stoll) out on the boat in the lake was, quite frankly, uncomfortable to watch. The script itself was fine, it was more the camera work being used. The close-ups were not effective. I understand that the director was wanting it to be as if you were the one being looked at and being swept in the same way these characters are towards each other, but honestly, it just felt weird. The close-ups were very cringey and the constant switch of the camera became exhausting to watch.

Personally, I didn't like the American accents being used in the movie. I felt they were distracting and almost out of place in the world being created around us. This is truly just a personal preference. I've always preferred a period drama in an English accent, but that could very much be because we are so used to seeing a period drama with similar setting having an English accent rather than American—although the first translated version of this play performed was in an American accent, which the director could have possibly have paid homage to.

Now to some of the things I loved, the casting. The casting was perfect. Annette Bening's portrayal of "Irina" was captivating. She stole the show. Her performance was a stand out of the cast but I will say, the cast as a whole worked good together and the chemistry was lovely to watch on-screen. Saoirse Ronan took more of a naive approach to "Nina" than manipulative which worked well, although I would have liked to have seen some more mischief from her. Billy Howle as Konstantin fitted the role well, his acting was on top form and the performance he gave was admirable. Corey Stoll as Boris was enjoyable but also quite forgetful, whether that was his portrayal or the written character itself, I'm still not sure.

There were differences here and there to the play. But at the end of the day, that is to be expected and I believe the movie did the play justice. At the end of the play, you do not actually see Konstantin do the deed, you simply hear the gunshot off-stage. In the movie, we see it. This was something I actually really liked as I felt it gave more of an impact and I could feel my heart jump when he pulled the trigger.

All in all, I give this movie 4/5 stars. I would happily watch this movie again and the money I spent on a cinema ticket was well and truly worth it.