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...Almereyda's own admission, the film was shot "fast and cheap" on 16mm film, and it shows. This version is certainly a "poor man's" Hamlet that neither remains truthful to the original text, nor emerges as a stunningly relevant interpretation that redefines the tale for our time. Under the circumstances, the text can't be faulted, but what the production team does in interpretation and execution makes for largely uninvolving storytelling...
...that, in places, Ragozzino and director Andrew Boch '02 seem to struggle with understanding their own universe. One awkward example arises from the fact that both Chaffin and John Gravois play Matthew Circland at age 42, yet Gravois has been 42 for 21 years. This seems to contradict the text's own (generally acceptable) logic. The problem manifests itself as a result of the overlap in the existence of the two Matthews. While other Matthews appear (Jeff Klann, age 21 and Matthew Ciborowski, age 12), Chaffin's Matthew clashes less directly with them; they exist as memories (whether based...
...complexity of the situation, the events that take place within The Well are surprisingly banal. With writer's block, infidelity, regret, self-discovery, even a little touch of Dr. Freud, the text fails to offer any insight into our collective behavior, instead settling into the track established by the semi-omniscient narrator/bartender. This approach creates an atmosphere that makes IBOC seem like a lost episode of The Twilight Zone...
...note are Chaffin, Gravois and Jody Flader '02, who plays Matthew's lost love, Sarah. These three, more so than the other capable cast members, keep the show flowing and allow the audience to follow plot and character development in a world with too much history. Though IBOC's text lacks polish, the sophisticated conception driving the story and the dexterity with which Ragozzino addresses the material shows promise...
...concept and opening night. Thus was the audience left to face a set comprised of three movable stumps and a Lego-like bridge structure, dramatic staging which seems to overlook fundamental plot and character issues and a group of actors who struggle to preserve the meaning of the text in an Illyria gone horribly wrong...