`Night Mother by Marsha Norman is in its second Broadway run, and there was a movie of it. So someone liked it a lot. Well, it is a great vehicle for actresses, and Edie Falco and Brenda Blethyn as inept mother and suicidal daughter are two of the best, and it's rewarding to see them in action pouring their guts out. There is a certain tension in the play when the daughter declares at the opening that she is going to commit suicide and shows us the gun. But despite a tiny bit of humor here and there, the play soon became quite ordinary in the homey dialogue, mostly exposition, that drones on as the women do ordinary, trivial kitchen things as we wait to see if she will die.
These two excellent actress portray deep suffering in different ways -- it's hope versus hopelessness. Falco shows us the doomed life of a miserable epileptic loser; Blethyn the desperation of a mother about to lose her child. The problem is I felt more like a spectator than a participant (my companion felt the opposite), even though I've always loved Edie Falco and admired Brenda Blethyn. Director Michael Mayer mostly paces the emotions well, the fine kitchen/living room set is by Neil Patel, and Brian MacDevitt's subtle lighting changes enhance everything.
