THE GREAT LILLIAN HALL, US, 2025. Starring Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Lily Rabe, Jesse Williams, Pierce Brosnan. Directed by Michael Christofer. 110 minutes. Rated M (Coarse language).
As we watch the central performance, we are probably thinking ‘The Great Jessica Lange’. She has top lined in a range of strong films and television programs, and has won two Oscars. She is perfect casting here.
The film has been directed by actor and writer Christofer, who won Pulitzer and Tony awards for his play The Shadow Box. The screenplay is by Elisabeth Seldes Annacone, inspired by her actress aunt, Marian Seldes, who had the reputation, as with Lillian, of never missing a performance.
This is a story of a Grande Dame, First Lady, of the Broadway theatre. In a collage during the opening credits, she is seen on stage in rehearsals for Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, intercut with scenes of her daily life. When we meet Lillian Hall in the movie, she has been a significant name in Broadway lights for decades. But, a slip and a bump into a fellow-actor during rehearsal indicates some unease.
In fact, the great Hall is in the early stages of developing dementia. And, we realise, that with these slips, with some dramatic nightmares, with the frequent appearances of her deceased loving husband and her comfortable love for him and need for his presence, she is aware of the situation.
On the personal side, there is her long-time assistant, Edith (a feisty Bates) who discovers her medication and realises the truth. There is a visit from her daughter (Rabe), reaching out to her emotionally-remote mother.
There is a visit to the doctor, clarity of diagnosis, medication, advice. But, as we expect, Hall is determined that the show must go on, that she will be in command of her memory, reciting her lines, accurate blocking of the performance on stage, communicating with her director. She does have some support from her sympathetic neighbour Ty Maynard (Brosnan).
There are many scenes of rehearsal, of slips, of Lillian’s determination, of communication with her serious-minded director who places great hopes in her, hopes that are not shared by the dismal financial prospects for the producer should the show fail.
We may not have liked Hall if we encountered her in real life, nor she like us. However, the film invites us to share in the dread of dementia, in the upsets that it causes, some hope when she does reach out to her daughter with a visit, and some plain speaking with Edith. But Edith does have one solution, for Lillian to be connected by microphone and Edith to be her prompter – and a sequence in the rehearsal indicating whether this could succeed or fail.
So, ultimately, the dramatic climax is the dress rehearsal, the cast ready, a substitute ready, the anxiety of the director, the impatience of the producer. And Hall, about to go to the theatre, experiencing another appearance of her husband, remembering his devotion to her, his directing her, his support. And, even to the final moments, the audience continues to wonder if she will get to the theatre and make it through the performance. Of course, the ending, whether happy or sad, is well worth waiting for.
Transmission Films
Released 5 June