The Dresser (2016)

It is, it really is, just as magnificent, powerful and enthralling as you would imagine.

If the relatively simple parallel of the man and his role were all there was to The Dresser, it would be mildly interesting. But what makes it far more than that are the shades of longing, resentment, spite and indifference displayed by members of Sir’s circle.

There’s nothing immediately grabby about this film, beyond the promise of watching two of the best actors of the past half-century dance gracefully around each other for the better part of two hours. But sometimes that’s enough--especially when neither man misses a step.

The Dresser may not be for everyone. It's intimate--in the sense of being both small and intensely personal; it taps into a niche (these are not movie stars); it's all about the power of Shakespeare; it reads, despite the flourishes that Eyre makes as a director to keep it dimensional, as a play shot as a TV movie; and its pacing is odd, but enjoyable.

A claustrophobic but ultimately affecting TV movie starring Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins.

Instead of expanding it, in the stage-to-screen tradition, screenwriter-director Richard Eyre (“The Hollow Crown”) chooses to close it in, setting it entirely in the theater and reverting, he says, to the original Ronald Harwood play. That makes The Dresser both claustrophobic and sometimes numbingly talky, especially given the fast pace of the chatter and the range of accents. This can all be a struggle for American viewers, but persist and the result should prove worth it.

If you’re predisposed to liking a dramatic stage play and acting showcase, you’ll adore it. If you aren’t, I’m not sure it’s going to win any new fans. It does what it does lovingly, but it’s definitely of niche interest.