Dance First

Greetings again from the darkness. Some slack and a certain level of compassion is due director James Marsh's (Oscar winner for MAN ON WIRE, 2008) biopic on the enigmatic writer Samuel Beckett. The reasons no other filmmaker has previously attempted to profile Beckett are on display here, right alongside the reasons he remains such a fascinating figure. The screenplay from Neil Forsyth features surprisingly little of Beckett's own work, and instead, generally breaks his life into three categories: his foundation as a writer, his work in the French Resistance, and the weight of his romantic life.

An interesting and fitting opening has Beckett (Gabriel Byrne) acknowledging the "catastrophe" of winning a Nobel Prize. He snatches the prize money and then 'escapes' to have a discussion with himself (also played by Gabriel Byrne) in regard to how (and to whom) he should give the money in a way that best assuages his long-time guilt. This recurring device of Beckett to Beckett is used for structure throughout the film and provides a lead-in to chronological flashback chapters titled with the names of those he wronged along the way.

"Mother" shows young Sam bonding with his loving father (Barry O'Connor) who died too young, and battling with a mother (Lisa Dwyer Hogg) whose level of support she conveyed to teen Sam (Fionn O'Shea, WOLF, 2021) with a cutting, "What a waste" after reading his stories. This is followed by "Lucia", where Beckett tutors under his idol James Joyce (the always interesting Aidan Gillen). The price to pay for this guidance is regular dance dates with Joyce's energetic daughter Lucia (Grainne Good). When Beckett spoils the master plan, Joyce exacts revenge. In the process, Sam takes to heart the advice, 'the important thing is not what we write, but how we write it." The next chapter is "Alfy", named after Beckett's Jewish friend, Alfred Peron (Robert Aramayo). Alfie's capture by the gestapo fills Beckett with guilt and leads him into the French Resistance. "Suzanne" is the longest chapter as it struggles to explain Beckett's complicated personal life. His first love is Suzanne (the younger version by Leonie Lojkine, and the older version by Sandrine Bonnaire). Although Suzanne seems to understand Beckett quite well, he also falls for his BBC interpreter Barbara Bray (played by Maxine Peake). This business and romantic affair spanned many years and was not kept secret from Suzanne.

"La Fin" takes us towards the end of Beckett's and Suzanne's lives - they died five months apart in 1989. It's here where the two Beckett's debate whether joy existed, or if being haunted by the memory of a red kite and various guilt-producing life moments override everything. The title is taken from a portion of a line in (one of ) Beckett's masterpiece, "Waiting for Godot", which states, "Dance first. Think later." These days, it's a sentiment many seem to live by, but one Beckett says to the other, "you couldn't wait to get to the pain." Perhaps that's shared by many writers. The film will have limited appeal, and while it has strong performances and moments of real interest, it's no surprise that a film falls short in capturing such a life of Samuel Beckett.

In theaters August 9, 2024 and on digital August 16, 2024.

Gabriel Byrne's rather uninspiring portrayal of Nobel laureate Samuel Beckett begins at the ceremony when he collects his cheque then climbs up through the theatre to a cave where he meets himself (in a polo neck) and together they try to decide what to do with the cash! This chat provides the scenario for a retrospective of the man's life. His childhood with a loving father and more distant mother; a life (now played by Fionn O'Shea) in Paris where he encounters the legendary James Joyce (Aiden Gillen) and his dance-loving daughter "Lucia" (Gráinne Good) before the Nazis arrive and he joins the French resistance and meets "Suzanne" (Sandrine Bonnaire) before becoming Byrne again for a denouement with her and BBC producer Barbara (Maxine Peake). Now clearly this was not an uneventful life, nor was this a dull man - but somehow the whole, lethargic, pace of this film rather grinds the joy from it. There are glimpses of the pithy wit of both Joyce and Beckett, and I did quite enjoy O'Shea's portrayal of the younger man but the rest is really an awkwardly introspective guilt trip as this man looks back on a life that is full of regret but very little positivity. Indeed, the whole film seems more focussed on offering us shallow glances of those who were important in his life rather than try to explain to us anything of his nature or just quite why we ought to care. Perhaps it is an authentic reflection of his life, but it's really quite a dull watch - even if the film itself does look great. Some lovely ragtime jazz though.

This is not a good film. The themes it covers are explored in depth and well in the Cronin biography. Read that book instead.

This is not a good film because it squanders its talent, though they are all able, but the shrewish depiction of Suzanne is unfair and is a simplistic device for Beckett to seek affection elsewhere.

It is not good because the locations are obviously neither shot in Paris nor in France.. The latter may seem a quibble but the scenes of the war time in Roussillon are critical to rendering Beckett's life with Suzanne and to his development as a writer.

It is not a good film because it uses reductionism to render a stereotype of man in his relationships with women, that is not historically accurate and glosses over essential facts that would provide context: thus, the time of the Bray affair Beckett and Suzanne had lived separate lives, loyal, yes, but more as lodgers in the same apartment. The time spent on the unfortunate Lucia is wasted as it has no import but to display the relationship with Joyce, and if it was seen as important, it might have shown Beckett visit Lucia in the asylum as he did.

Where it has promise is in the duologue between the Becketts, which allow for a dramatic exposition of his inner life. Or some variant of it; ready for a streaming platform and easy consumption. These scenes were quite effective but not enough to save the overall feeling of superficial understanding and cliche: Beckett quoting an American review of Godot is ridiculous.

This is a biopic of Irish writer Samuel Beckett (Gabriel Byrne, Fionn O'Shea). This starts with his domineering volatile mother. He has a complicated relationship with his mentor James Joyce (Aidan Gillen) especially with James' daughter Lucia Joyce. He meets Suzanne and participates in the French resistance against the Nazis.

I don't know that much about Samuel Beckett other than Waiting for Godot. Even there, I don't know that much about that. Essentially, I'm coming into this blind. There are stuff here, but maybe it should distill his life into one thing. In that sense, Lucia could be more than his Rosebud. That part could be the whole movie. This is more for Beckett fans who want his work being transformed onto the screen.