What I think I might love most about the film is that for all its declamations and monologues and high theatricality, it's actually quite subtle about the way it presents its characters: we get to know Norman best not through any of his set-pieces (though that last speech is a doozy), but in the small reveals of the moment-to-moment, like his instant recall of lines whenever Sir needs them, or the trueness of his singing voice as he demonstrates the Fool's part (quite different from his chorus-line bustling with the kettle), or the way he's sober until all of a sudden he's not. And this is a world in which everyone is onstage whether they appear in front of the footlights or not; the audience is always sorting through masks and even when those are stripped, there's still subjectivity. We're told all sorts of things, but that doesn't make them the only things that are true.
no subject
What I think I might love most about the film is that for all its declamations and monologues and high theatricality, it's actually quite subtle about the way it presents its characters: we get to know Norman best not through any of his set-pieces (though that last speech is a doozy), but in the small reveals of the moment-to-moment, like his instant recall of lines whenever Sir needs them, or the trueness of his singing voice as he demonstrates the Fool's part (quite different from his chorus-line bustling with the kettle), or the way he's sober until all of a sudden he's not. And this is a world in which everyone is onstage whether they appear in front of the footlights or not; the audience is always sorting through masks and even when those are stripped, there's still subjectivity. We're told all sorts of things, but that doesn't make them the only things that are true.