The Dresser

How intoxicating, the thundering applause of total strangers who see you not as mere mortal, but perhaps a god born with the ability to spout the prose of Shakespeare at a moment's notice. Night after night, seemingly effortlessly donning the wigs of King Lear or the blackface of Othello. The majesty does not happen without provocation. What great pains to prop the old sot up long enough just to have him sit still for makeup application, never mind to make the grand entrance Lear does! Perhaps "Sir", an aged thespian (Albert Finney) would merely fall into a pile were it not for his long suffering assistant, Norman (Tom Courtenay).

1983's THE DRESSER is the the film adaptation of a twice produced stage production (Britain and Broadway) that also starred Courtenay as the put-upon handler. He is amazing to watch. A tireless, perfectly modulated performance this is. Pure strength as he matches the power of Finney's all-out gasp as the actor in the autumn/winter of his career. Most of the film is set in Sir's oversized cavern of a dressing room, equipped with sofa and tables and hooks on the wall onto which the many garments of Richard III and other Bard legends are strewn.

Norman attends to every minitiaeu of Sir's beckon. He's as ready with a Guinness as he is with a line reading, which tonight Sir seems to be unable to find. When he does recall, he quotes the wrong play. Sir is the lead actor and manager of his traveling cast, but without Norman he may well simply bark at the walls, nary caring for a response, well into the night. THE DRESSER has a few outdoor scenes early on, including an amusing train station episode, but the majority of the film remains fixed in the theater, patrons buzzing and unfazed by the sounds of bombs landing nearby (the time period is WWII). The Germans are not enough to keep adoring fans away, away from what is sure to be another astonishing, passionate performance.

Anyone who has toiled backstage will find much to enjoy in THE DRESSER. One great scene shows the other actors and crew rattling and shaking metal to simulate the sounds of a thunderstorm. Throught the film, others in the company will watch with concern and disgust, wondering if their lead will even make it to the stage. The stage manager is steely and doubtful on this particularly eventful night which comes after Sir spends an afternoon filled with alcohol and loathing in a hospital bed.

But THE DRESSER, for all of director Peter Yates' meticulous attention to the atmosphere of the theater and the drama amongst the troupe, is really about the relationship of 2 men, one of whom carries a burden that will perhaps go eternally unappreciated. I can't hand out enough laurels to Finney and Courtenay. The complexity of their relationship manages itself to be theatrical, fascinating, and finally, heartbreaking.