“Anna Christie” Seduces The Critics
O’Neill’s “Anna Christie,” starring a Poseidon-bearded Jude Law and Ruth Wilson, has opened in London. The reviews are excellent (here and here and here). There’s already been talk of shipping “Anna” to Broadway, where Law boosted the box office of “Hamlet” a few seasons ago. I’ve never cared for “Anna,” and found even the last Broadway revival, with Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson, to be leaden.
I always considered Eugene O’Neill to be one of the most uneven Western writers of the 20th century. He could be truly great (LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, which wasn’t published or performed during O’Neill’s lifetime), or just ridiculous (THE HAIRY APE, ANNA CHRISTIE). I also found the Natasha Richardson/Liam Neeson revival of the latter play to be a crashing bore, despite the fabled “electricity” between the two leads.