I fail to see why this production averages 5.5 from IMDB users; it's really a very competent and effective version of possibly my favourite Beckett play. It is not showy, it lacks risk-taking, but frankly playing safe with the superb material is a worthwhile furrow to plough.
Hurt is magnificent as Krapp, etching this rendition into the memory like 'crysallite'. He is buffoonish and a great clown, as well as finding the requisite notes of bleak sadness. Egoyan basically presents the performance as close to how it would appear on stage; we are only given subtle uses of the medium - some closer in shots, executed with gradual, tactful camera movements.
I don't think I really need to expound upon the reasons behind this play's sublimity; needless to say, this is a very effective, none too radical version that presents it very amenably. Very well recommended; especially for those who are not at all familiar with the play; this will be a shatteringly moving revelation. As it was for me when I first saw this in the theatre 18 months or so ago.
Rating:- **** 1/2/*****
