Henning: Yah that's how we met / yah / we married sisters / you the youngest / and I the oldest
Johannes: That's what happened / yah / [Johannes walks over to the window, stands next to Henning and looks out] / What a beautiful day / [short pause] / it was a beautiful day / the day she turned sixty / [somewhat short pause] / that's good / [somewhat short pause] / because we do love her / don't we
Frank Harts and Raymond McAnally, the two fine actors who play Henning and Johannes respectively, generate a lot of laughs with their arch delivery of passages like this. Their early repartee provides a humorous counterfoil to the sometimes overly drawn-out scenes in the hospital, where the daughters' helplessness in the face of their mother's precipitous decline rides a wave between heartrending and frustrating.
As Mom sleeps, wakes, and utters her nonsense syllables, wordless yet fraught with human feeling, we're moved equally by Hilde's icy repression and Nora's flowery anguish. Yet Mom's personality somehow comes across just as powerfully as those of her putatively more articulate daughters. That's a testament to Kates's remarkable performance in a role that includes a lot of sleeping, never lets her get out of bed, and permits her no actual words - only syllables and stroke-mangled facial expressions. She's painful to watch, and utterly convincing.
We're left with some open questions. Trine, an old family friend, arrives for the party with her new husband. Why, though she is the sisters' age, did she end up in a lasting friendship with Mom? The fact is raised as if it might be a key to understanding the family dynamic, yet it's never addressed.
The frequent use of the syllable "Yah" (halfway between Norwegian "Ja" and American "Yeah") effectively ties all the characters together and replaces the usual "Um"'s and "Well"'s and "Y'know"'s of American idiom. But we can't help pausing to wonder whether it's carried over from the original Norwegian, and if so, what did it mean there?
Article comments
1 - Alma Carey
Katherine Kates is a brilliant actress.
I had the privilege to meet her and work with her years ago in Los Angeles.
She should be a major star today.
A difficult and minimalist role such as this definitely requires extreme skill to infuse it with poignant humanity.
I expect this performance will bring Ms. Kates the recognition she so richly deserves.
By the way, cold, dark countries live life at these slow paces, so this tempo is natural for them.
2 - John M. Weeks
I too think Ms. Kates should have reached stardom years ago. She is superbly talented and consistenly delivers an outsanding performance. I first saw her perform many years ago and not been disappointed by her ability to act. She's a five-star!!