➤ FEMALE NUDE SEATED, from p.30 ➤ TOMMASO, from p.30
ist. The titular work, painted by
Mainie, is the catalyst for the conversation
as its conventional nature
constricts Mainie’s urge for expression.
Finally, there is the question
of what’s next for both Mainie and
Evie as women, artists, and, potentially,
lovers.
Gage’s delicate exposition and
lyrical writing parcel out the information
and the development of
the women’s relationship in a way
that feels organic and natural, no
small feat. The two actors appear
in Zoom boxes side-by-side with
plain backgrounds, yet under the
direction of Emma Rosa Went,
their interactions feel intimate and
real. Though this was billed as a
“reading,” Went and her cast have
clearly explored the text and the
relationship in great detail.
Olivia Rose Barresi as Mainie
and Morgaine Gooding-Silverwood
as Evie achieve a compelling depth
in their characterizations. Performing
in static close-ups, they nonetheless
give the women a range of
emotions that radiate through the
screen. Particularly as they begin
to realize that this may be more
than friendship, their tentative
interactions and growing sense
of the possibility they see in each
other are riveting, as is their determination
to fi nd their own voices
as artists.
As a companion to the reading,
there is a talkback discussion moderated
by Queens College literature
professor Hillary E. Miller, which
puts the play, the playwright, and
issues such as lesbianism in the
period in a broader context.
If we are learning anything
watching plays on Zoom, it’s that
consistently less is more. The combination
of a sophisticated, beautifully
realized script with outstanding
actors who know exactly how
to play to the limited camera of a
laptop can be are all that is needed
to deliver the kind of theater that’s
a welcome stopgap until we can all
be together again.
FEMALE NUDE SEATED | Produced
by Counterclaim Productions
| Free on YouTube | counterclaimart.
com/ourwork/female-nude-seated
| Forty-four mins., with 80-min.
companion
“Driller Killer,” but in the ‘90s he
drifted into the arthouse. Lately, he
has occupied any slot that would
allow him to keep working, including
documentaries. He’s pursued
the psychodrama and intensity of
Martin Scorsese and John Cassavetes
with a rare earnestness;
even his pulpiest fi lms never settled
for hip pastiche. There’s been a
sense of something real, connected
to life, at stake even in his worst
fi lms.
“Tommaso” has an oddball
rhythm, striding from the classes
Tommaso teaches to his home life
to the 12-step meetings he attends
without any big epiphanies. Tommaso
comes across as a very ordinary
man, pursuing his dream
project while paying the bills
teaching. In one of his meetings, he
talks about the production of a fi lm
in Miami, which is clearly based on
“The Blackout,” and says he originally
wanted it to be a remake of
“La Dolce Vita.” (Instead, “The
Blackout” riffs on “A Star Is Born.”)
Made at the peak of his addiction,
“The Blackout” imagined the possibility
of getting clean but being
irreparably haunted by the damage
caused by one’s behavior while
high. It’s a very pessimistic view of
recovery. The ending of “Tommaso”
likens the characters’ struggles to
Christ being tortured on the cross,
but as a whole, the fi lm offers the
possibility of a man succeeding at
becoming a better person.
Dafoe played Jesus for Scorsese,
and Ferrara refers to that
scene near the end of “Tommaso.”
A Catholic who now practices Buddhism,
Ferrara alludes to both religions.
Despite the violent imagery
of the last 20 minutes, this is Ferrara’s
mellowest fi lm, though it feels
like it might run off the rails in the
next scene. The two-hour length
constantly threatens to run out of
steam. Even so, it does a terrifi c job
of synthesizing a cinema based on
personal experience with the fantasy
inherent to the medium.
TOMMASO | Directed by Abel Ferrara
| Kino Lorber | In English and
Italian with English subtitles Starts
streaming through Kino Marquee
(kinomarquee.com/) and Film at
Lincoln Center (fi lmlinc.org) Jun. 5
VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE
SATURDAY
JUNE 27, 2 0 2 0
Text or Call: (347) 305-4497
GayCityNews.com | June 04 - June 17, 2020 31
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/lmlinc.org
/GayCityNews.com
