Kafka Lives! Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman is a gothic horror story of repression and cruel interrogation in a totalitarian state, and about child abuse creating Art. McDonough is a very good short story writer, and several of his graphic tales involving cruelty to, and butchery of, children are hung on the framework of a man's grilling about involvement in murders that replicate killings in his stories.
The actors are terrific: Billy Crudup as the writer and Michael Stuhlbarg as his retarded brother bring life and depth to their roles, Zeljko Ivanek as "the bad cop" is bad, bad, bad (and reminded me of the old screen actor James Gleason), and the marvelous Jeff Goldblum as the chief interrogator is absolutely magnetic. Goldblum's own high intelligence and sense of humor come through with impeccable comic timing. John Crowley has directed with a deft touch, and set and costumes by Scott Pask transcend the given into the profound, as does Brian MacDevitt's lighting.
So we have good strong writing and production, some of the best performances in town, and horrible squirmy content except for a slight green uptilt near the end. What's your pleasure?
