Chip’s Corner
T
his time last year, romance – not COVID – was in the air. But there’s still plenty to love in this month’s entertainment options.
AMARILLO ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT “GO FIGURE”: Amarillo Museum of Art’s latest exhibition explores a variety of interpretations of the human figure, featuring artists Vera Barnett, Barnaby Fitzgerald, Miles Cleveland Goodwin, Sean Cairns, Lindy Chambers and Otis Huband. (Jan. 22 to March 28, 2200 S. Van Buren St. 806-371-5050, amoa.org)
“ONCE”: Amarillo Little Theatre tackles this beloved contemporary musical,
based on the 2007 drama, in its next Adventure Space production. Set in Dublin, it follows the love story of an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant, and intriguingly, the actors all play their own instruments, adding an intimate yet communal touch. (Feb. 11 to 28, ALT Adventure Space, 2751 Civic Circle. 806-355-9991, amarillolittletheatre.org)
AMARILLO SYMPHONY: The orchestra announced last month that
it would shift most of its 2020-21 season online, aiming to return to live concerts in April and extending conductor Jacomo Bairos’ contract to November 2021.
Details had not been announced for February by presstime, but music should be distributed via social media and email, with a potential broadcast in the works, too. (806-376-8782)
MOVIES “FRENCH EXIT”
Icy and arch, the melancholy farce “French Exit” is just about the last film you’d expect to have a talking cat. And yet, the sonorous Tracy Letts lends his vocal cords to Small Frank, a sleek black cat that’s apparently the vessel for the reincarnated spirit of the late Frank, deceased husband of Frances (Michelle Pfeiffer). This bizarre little comedy from director Azazel Jacobs (“The Lovers”), based on a novel by Patrick DeWitt (who wrote the screenplay), plays like a Wes Anderson supernatural yarn. As it opens, Frank’s untimely death has sent Frances’ life into a pitiful spiral. Told in an early scene that she is rapidly burning through what’s left of Frank’s estate, she decides to sell it all, cross the Atlantic on a second-rate cruise ship with her son, Malcolm (Lucas Hedges), and move into a friend’s apartment in Paris. Here’s the thing, though: Frances is never pitiful, no matter her situation. Pfeiffer exudes a graceful coolness throughout, even when her life is utterly falling apart. She’s in control, despite really having no control at all. It’s a delightful, masterful performance that elevates the film. Because, truly, in any other hands, Frances would be utterly unlikeable; instead, she’s captivating. And whatever magic Pfeiffer is spinning is abetted by a charming performance by Hedges, a memorably odd one by the great Valerie Mahaffey and a wry one by Danielle Macdonald as a medium. But ultimately, maybe it’s all too arch, too dry to really, truly work. I wish it all held together better, but Pfeiffer’s performance alone is worth the price of admission. (Opens Feb. 12 in limited release; available Feb. 26 on streaming services)
“THE MAURITANIAN”
A top-notch cast and a riveting true story somehow aren’t enough to make a compelling film in “The Mauritanian,” based on the true story of an innocent man locked away for years in Guantanamo.
VERA BARNETT “THE PAINTED WORD: IN/OUT,” 2011 OIL ON LINEN, 48 1/8 X 48 INCHES LOAN COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND VALLEY HOUSE GALLERY AND SCULPTURE GARDEN
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AMARILLO.COM/AMARILLO-MAGAZINE • FEBRUARY 2021
Other narrative features on the same subject (think “Rendition” and “Camp X-Ray”) also have fallen flat. Maybe that’s because the horror is too recent or, more likely, because it’s hard to dramatize something so absolutely despicable as the abuses suffered by our hero, Mohamedou Ould Slahi (Tahar Rahim, “A Prophet”), and have the audience come to any other conclusion than how absolutely despicable the abuses are. It’s hard to find nuance when the circumstances are so vile.
