I have to start out by saying that I loved this play. I have yet to see the movie and reading this has just made want to see it even more than I already did. The play was realistic and I really felt for many of characters, even the ones I didn't necessarily like. Now for some things I noticed about the play.
One thing I really liked was the use of monologues. The "sermons" given by Father Flynn were extremely powerful and a great asset to the play. They allowed the audience to gain incite into Flynn's character while also providing a glimpse at some of the themes of the play. I thought that the juxtaposition of these monologue with the scenes with the sisters provided an excellent way to move the plot along while still getting important character information.
Another interesting thing I noticed is that, like with "Spinning Into Butter", many of the characters who are essential to the plot are never seen. Without Donald Muller there would be no story here, or at least it would be a different story, yet he is never on stage. In both cases I don't think that the character needs to be on stage. In fact, particularly in this case, I think the play s probably better without Donald. If we saw the young boy, and really felt for him as a character, then any sympathy we might have for Father Flynn would be gone. Without some small caring for Father Flynn the play would be too one-sided and therefore boring.
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I half agree with Donald not being in the play. I think that having Donald in the play would remove doubt. But I don't think it would have just swayed us away from Flynn. I think it could have done the opposite. I mean, Donald's mother mentions that he might be gay, and says that he talks about Flynn a lot and really likes him. Not once does the play actually say that Donald really acted abused by Flynn or anything else. He gets beaten by his dad, but other than the alcohol on his breath after meeting with Flynn, it never suggests he was having issues or acting like he'd been molested.
ReplyDeleteI don't think having Donald in the play would sway me either way. I think his presence onstage would be largely unnecessary (especially since the playwright is known for writing things very purposely and pointedly).
ReplyDeleteDonald is present in the movie, of course. And you got to see his interactions with Father Flynn, and his reactions to things like Father Flynn leaving the parish. I'll admit that his presence in the movie swayed me, but it swayed me to both sides at differing times.