HBO/Crave
It’s not often Broadway comes to the big screen, but rarer still is when it’s not a musical that gets an adaptation but a play. J.T. Rogers’ history drama Oslo is one of the rare titles these days to do just that, in a timely if only moderately successful way.
Both the play and the film recount the events leading up to the signing of the 1993 Oslo peace accords between Israel and Palestine. It focuses on the true story of a Norwegian couple, diplomat Mona (Ruth Wilson) and husband Terje (Andrew Scott) who facilitated secret talks between the countries in the hope of forging peace.
Interest for the film’s subject matter is unquestionably heightened by the intensifying reports from the two countries that dominated world news through last month, but the timing of the film’s HBO and Crave release is a coincidence.
If anything, the timing couldn’t be better, not just for Israel and Palestine but for the world at large. The best part of this film is the clearly prevalent theme of co-operation: this story teaches us that even the greatest and most terrible enemies have the capability of working together and finding common ground.
The original play in New York City was directed by nine-time Tony Award nominee Bartlett Sher, now making his film debut here as director too. He makes the transition best of everyone who were in both versions of Oslo.
Strangely, none of the excellent theatre cast returned for the film. Yet the movie ensemble is made of strong actors, from leads Wilson and Scott to both sides of foreign ministers, advisors and lawyers around them.
Salim Daw, Dov Glickman, Itzik Cohen and Jeff Wilbusch all have terrific line delivery and caution as they talk through peace, and master performer Sasson Gabai has a great cameo as Shimon Peres. (Special mention goes also to Geraldine Alexander as cook Toril, brilliantly using waffles to diffuse tension in a very funny scene.)
HBO/Crave
I, fortunately, got to see the source play’s Broadway production back in 2017. As an audience member who’s seen both forms in their intended world premieres, I was surprised how clear the similarities and differences were. Playwright J. T. Rogers (who won a Tony for writing the play) made a number of interesting changes when adapting his stage show into a screenplay.
On the plus side, he’s cut an hour from the runtime, which effectively streamlines the action - it’s easier to watch a two hour film than a three hour play. On the downside, he’s added in one too many Mona flashback scenes that are devoid of context.
The screenplay also made time for several transition scenes showing characters moving between locations. We needed this on stage because there’s a practical need for set and costume changes, but film doesn’t have that requirement.
Film audiences don’t need buffer time to process human interaction like theatre audiences too, and all these added scenes accomplish on film is slow the whole thing down. When we’re trying to focus on the negotiations and its surrounding conflict, it feels weird interspersing them with less important periods of waiting.
I really enjoyed watching the movie, and the story is both thrilling to see and thrilling to re-visit four years since my first experience with Oslo. What disappoints me is how cold the movie feels in contrast to how uniquely intimate and fast-paced the play was.
The stage show did a great job at engaging its audience, hooking us and wanting to know what happens next. That immediacy is missing from its film counterpart, meaning those intrigued by the story will like the movie but few others will.
Even as a fan of the play, and even though I personally liked the movie, it’s unlikely you will too.
Oslo
5 out of 10
14A, 1hr 58mins. History Drama.
Directed by Bartlett Sher.
Starring Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott, Salim Daw, Dov Glickman, Itzik Cohen and Jeff Wilbusch.
Now streaming on Crave+HBO for subscribers.
