It’s almost like watching a modernized take on All About Eve, except more dramatic than funny.
What it's about
While preparing to mount a play on Broadway, the revered Lillian Hall (Jessica Lange) finds it difficult to remember her lines, worrying her colleagues, her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe), and her assistant, Edith (Kathy Bates).
The take
The Great Lillian Hall doesn’t do anything particularly great to a familiar premise, but it’s still worth watching for the knockout performances. There’s Lange, whose dementia both complicates her desire to mount one last performance and resurfaces her guilt for being an absent mother. There’s Bates, who offers both sympathy and tough love. And then there’s Rabe, who’s gut-punching as the pained daughter crawling her way into her mother’s stiff arms. Everything else about the film is not as noteworthy as it drags the film for way longer than it should be. But that trifecta of performances makes it all worthwhile.
What stands out
Perhaps Lange’s love letter to acting cuts as deep as it does because she’s been in the industry for so long, and in that time has delivered some of the most memorable turns in Hollywood history.
Comments
Add a comment
Your name
Your comment
UP NEXT
UP NEXT
UP NEXT
More like this in
Goodbye Mother (2019)
A closeted immigrant returns home with his love in this feel-good family drama
7.0
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
Two drag queens and their trans friend find family in this iconic queer road trip drama
7.8
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.
8.1
Rain (2019)
A girl finds true love in this unusual, marvelous, rain-soaked coming-of-age drama
8.1
The Guilty (2018)
A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.
9.0
Forgotten Love (2023)
The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama
7.7
System Crasher (2019)
A tale of trauma and one of the most talked about movies on Netflix in 2020.
9.0
Godzilla Minus One (2023)
A more story-driven Godzilla movie with a lot heart
8.0
Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
Wim Wenders documents Ry Cooder’s passion project in this nostalgic tribute to traditional Cuban music
7.5
Lilies (1996)
A passionate, underseen queer gem where a confession transforms into a memory play