It's amazing it has taken Wallace Shawn, Andre Gregory, and director Louis Malle more than 10 years to collaborate again. It was worth the wait, though.

The drawback, however, is that the actors chew the scenery in true stagecraft fashion, which, on film, induces regular wincing and a wish that they would hand out the valium and take it easy.

The performances are precise, the language is alive and well spoken and the setting is striking, but Vanya on 42nd Street still suffers rather heavily from the limitations of filmed theater.

this fresh take is a good example of how sweetly a classic text can sing when done with genuine care, attention and sensitivity…Mamet’s juices are clearly pumping as he manages the difficult trick of making Chekhov’s text play cinematically…