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The Flick (2014)

by Annie Baker(Favorite Author)

4 of 5 Votes: 8

ISBN

1559364580 (ISBN13: 9781559364584)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Theatre Communications Group

review 1: Winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, The Flick is a dialog driven play that is dotted by glimpses into the mundane and hard realities of life as experienced by three young ushers who work and help operate The Flick movie theater in any town Massachusetts, a below par movie house whose former glory has long since passed. The three main characters-Sam, Avery (who do the cleaning detail among other responsibilities) and Rose (the projectionist)-all yearn for an elevation above the typical monotony that they experience on a daily basis, but despite their best efforts, they are unable to progress above the underemployment and permeating aura of self-defeatism that seems to haunt, in their own varying degree, their own psyches. Their dreams seem to be greater than the re... morealities they exist in. And The Flick movie theater caters, somehow, to a romantic film ideal and or mythology that they each comfortably possess; in its very essence, The Flick, is a kind of mother hen of sorts who assuages the heavy baggage that these three employees carry, although they may not see it in that light; the cinema, too, is a holder of the past, simply by being one of the few remaining theaters that has not gone digital. Yet, there is a delicate thread that is wrapped around Avery, Sam and Rose, allowing them, each with their own different struggles, to somehow bond and rise above the workaday commonness that they all share. They kind of need each other but seem to be too hardened by life to make a long lasting attempt. But when they do open up, light seems to come through, even if it is inspired by crass admissions, unrefined behavior and workplace duties that are sometimes less than ideal. With these coworkers who are also quasi friends, admissions are made and secrets exposed. Longings are mentioned and dreams shattered, and strides in growth are made. Still, The Flick is not all heavy heartedness and grim despair, for there is a sense of comedic breeziness and wit that is intermixed with the moments of seriousness. The pace, while slow, is casual, and that allows for complete digestion of the dialog which can alternate easily with the shifting feelings of the characters. During the play, revelations are made that give some insights into what makes the three tick. Additionally, actions are taken that have dire consequences, and Avery, who is the most ethical and intelligent of the three, but yet also the most wounded, is the one who becomes the star of the group. But it is not without a cost, a toll that goes beyond mere emotional pain. While he grows, Sam seems to plow along in the complacency of his lot, and Rose does what she has to do to survive. However, they all grow intellectually and otherwise for having known each other. At moments, I couldn’t decide whether I was reading drama or poetry. And for me, those were elements that made The Flick a bright shining theatrical star.
review 2: in some ways this is everything i've ever wanted from a piece of writing. awkward fumbling characters! insanely realistic but readable/almost too-realistic dialogue! vignettes! mundane settings! character studies! this is, like, my literary mac & cheese, although typically i seek it out in fiction, not in drama. i'm not sure why i never thought to seek it out in drama, where Pretty Writing is sacrificed for getting to the nitty-gritty core of Awkward Revealing Vignettes. (in the end, are bare mundane vignette/character studies & pretty writing compatible? i mean, i never cared before, but when The Flick is nailing it so perfectly in a way that's kind of antithetical to Pretty Writing, you've got to wonder.) i would really like to see this performed but, like, duh. obviously i would. less

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