Death and the Maiden

Bem Kingsley, and Sigourney Weaver are in fine form here. 2 Great thespians doing what they do best. their acting is so over the top, the film is in a class all by itself. Although R rated, its a great film.... Full review

The viewer is nudged by the director to see the larger picture of the film, not the bare story line. What the viewer sees is a baker baking fresh bread and distributing it free to young hungry boys (the entire film suggests that young girls are an endangered species! ... Full Review

As a study of paranoia, mental anguish, and the morality of revenge, Death and the Maiden is a stunning success. Death and the Maiden lacks that gritty edge-of-your-seat suspense but makes up for it with a sick-to-your-stomach feeling through Paulina's recreations of her torture. ... Full Review

Polanski's gripping Death and the Maiden shows....This didacticism periodically threatens to sabotage the film's mounting volatility....Polanski unleashes his film's final, and most powerful, punch-a supple crane shot inside a concert hall....although there's very little in the way of exciting audio moments, the few gun shots and loud crashes come through smashingly.....long before Sexy Beast , Ben Kingsley had already proved himself adept at playing psychotic madmen..... ... Full Review

It's a tight, intense drama....Not that there are any real problems with either the performances (Weaver is a standout as usual, making the most of her natural fierceness) or the direction.....probably worked better onstage than it does onscreen.....In short, the play/film brings up many more, and more serious, issues than it can reasonably honor..... ... Full Review

And, though she falters in places with occasional weak line readings, Weaver is equally commanding much of the way. The result is a stilted, claustrophobic effect, which he probably expected to raise the level of tension and work in the film's favor. ... Full Review

In our era of downsizing, belt tightening and going out of business, the 2009-'10 theater season is offering us hope. Three stage companies based in the Historic Third Ward will be celebrating significant anniversaries. ... Full Article

Montreal's English-language Centaur Theatre has unveiled its lineup of six mainstage productions for its 41st season. The 2009-2010 season opener is the world premiere of In Piazza San Domenico by Mambo Italiano playwright Steve Galluccio. ... Full Article

The University of Utah Department of Theatre's Studio 115 productions of Ariel Dorfman's "Death and the Maiden" and Neil LaBute's "The Mercy Seat" continue this week at Studio 115. ... Full Article

I spent my formative years in print journalism at the old Knoxville Journal , the now defunct afternoon daily in UT-town, Knoxville, Tennessee. My rival, downstairs, as the joint-operating-agreement papers worked in the same building, was Betsy Pickle , a... ... Full Article

The setting, with its white walls, steel-enforced door, single bed and chairs, leads you to anticipate a close encounter of the inquisitorial kind in a mental hospital - or perhaps something more sinister. ... Full Article

Violence against women is a subject that Hollywood doesn't like to deal with head-on.But when actress Rosario Dawson formed her own production company, Trybe, that's the theme she chose for her first film. ... Full Article