By Ray Bennett
LONDON – Val Kilmer leaves his movie star magnetism at home in his portrayal of an amoral drifter in Andrew Rattenbury’s adaptation of the James M. Cain noir thriller “The Postman Always Rings Twice,” and while it’s a brave acting decision, it might not be the right one.
The story has been famously filmed twice, with John Garfield (1946) and Jack Nicholson (1981), and each star has used charisma to help explain why sparks fly between the drifter and the wife of the owner of a dust-bound diner on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
On the page, Cain’s no-nonsense prose style was sufficient but as soon as the characters become inhabited on screen or stage, the issue of believability becomes another matter.
Kilmer is fully convincing playing Frank Chambers as a not very bright lout and Charlotte Emmerson is equally good as Cora, the woman who embroils him in a plot to murder her husband. But lacking any hint of sex appeal on either side, it’s difficult to get involved in their story.
Cora is an ex-bar girl who saw marriage to a well-meaning but ordinary Greek man named Papadakis (Joe Alessi, pictured top with Kilmer)) as her way out but has discovered that a life slinging hash in the guy’s desert truck stop isn’t all that glamorous either.
Frank’s clumsy first move on Cora amounts to assault but she responds, as noir women will, and soon he is up to his neck in her nefarious plot. As the murderous pair inevitably do the things that will lead to their undoing, the play becomes more of a police procedural and suffers as a result.
Designer Bunny Christie’s set, complete with a huge electrical sign that suffers in a storm, captures the parched and empty life that Cora lives until Frank enters the diner one day and displays a hunger not only for coke and a fry-up but also for Cora.
The ambitious set later features a fancy hydraulic system that allows for a noisy car crash although for some reason the wrecked vehicle remains on stage inexplicably hovering over the action.
It’s to Kilmer’s credit that he invests such seriousness in his role but for once a little star power would go a long way.
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Playhouse Theatre, London
Playwright: Andrew Rattenbury, adapted from the James M. Cain novel; Director: Lucy Bailey; Producer: Rupert Gavin; Designer: Bunny Christie; Lighting: Nigel Edwards; Sound: Mic Pool; Music: Django Bates. Cast: Frank Chambers: Val Kilmer; Nick Papadakis/Katz: Joe Alessi; Cora Papadakis: Charlotte Emmerson; State cop/Jeremies: Mac McDonald; Sackett: Keith Bartlett; Warder/Dawson: Ian Pirie; Kennedy: Aran Bell; Barlow: Adam Rayner; Nurse: Alanis Peart; Cop: Martin Johnson; Cop: Steve Knightly; Madge Allen: Rae Baker. Incidental Colman, Ambassador Theatre Group and Maidstone Productions in association with Hilary Williams present the West Yorkshire Playhouse production.
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