Medea Response
Medea is an ancient Greek play that tells the story of a woman who has been so hurt by love that she is willing to pay any price to make her husband, Jason, feel suffering even greater than her own. She is even willing to sacrifice the lives of her own children just to cause him pain.
In this production of Medea, it is extremely obvious that the story was originally a play. Many plays, when they are transferred to the screen, are adapted. Many, like Sweeney Todd, you cannot even tell were originally plays. In this production however, it is obvious. The set was extremely minimalistic. The entire play takes place on the steps outside of Medea’s home. When the camera pulls out, you see that it is not even a full building. Just the front wall of the house was constructed. This minimalistic approach to the set creates the feeling that you really are watching a play not a movie and makes it easier to transport yourself back to the theatres of ancient Greece. You can imagine you are at the festival of Dionysus, watching the greatest plays of the year.
The Greeks certainly knew how to write tragedies. The film is painful to watch. In the beginning, you see how much Medea is grieving and you feel sorry for her. You want to see Corinth crash and burn at her hands. She left her country and killed her brother for her love of Jason and now, not only is he marrying another woman, but she is being banished from city. However, when Jason first appears, we find out that it is not that simple. Jason is only marrying the other woman for her power and he wishes Medea to remain to live with him. It is only because of her jealous threats that she is being forced to leave. The situation is clearly still a reason to be outraged, but it makes Jason less disgusting in the eyes of the audience. Then Media begins to speak of murdering her children. The fact that she could even think of killing her children, let alone act on it, makes it impossible to sympathize with her. This leaves the story without a hero. Watching a movie without a hero, especially a story this twisted, is difficult. There is no one to root for and no one to sympathize with or relate to. You can only hope that that the Medea will conquer her hate and not kill her children. Then in the end she does and so the film leaves you feeling slightly sick. The thing is, it happens. Mothers kill their children. Humans are capable of a plethora of unspeakable things. While it may be unpleasant, sometimes it is important to meditate on that fact.
Despite the fact that the plot was slightly sickening, the play was still captivating. Zoe Caldwell perfected her performance of a fury crazed, madwoman. She went effortlessly from sweet-tongued to wild with fury in seconds. At many points she was literally shaking with rage. The fact that I felt so disgusted by her is a testament to how well she played the part. In addition to Caldwell’s performance, Media’s power was awe-inspiring. She may have been a witch warped by rage beyond repair, but it is hard not to be impressed by a woman who can bring an entire city to its knees in a matter of hours.