‘Dance First’ Review – An Enchanting Tragicomedy

Discovering the “Theater Of The Absurd” for the first time at the age of 20 has been one of the most eye-opening experiences of my life. Thinking about how Samuel Beckett was this self-referential, self-reflective playwright gave me the confidence to pursue literary passions, detached from all restrictions and narrative inhibitions.

Enter Dance First with Beckett winning his Nobel Prize for Literature. Instead of accepting his award, he escapes to The Otherworld where he talks with himself about the most deserving woman in his life to receive the large monetary reward associated with the prize. The film follows Beckett as he reviews his relationships with the various women who have been in his life, instead of resorting to rhetoric retelling of a rather obscure past — Beckett was infamous for his privacy — the film recreates some scenes and figments of his life, centering every section on one of the women. One of the most enjoyable parts is the one where he gets involved with his mentor James Joyce’s schizophrenic daughter Lucia.

James Marsh’s skill as a director is evident here. The events unfold at rapid speed, not a dull moment. While it may seem like a feast for intellectuals, Dance First is a time machine into wilder, more passion-consumed times. It’s a beautiful commentary on the times; the 1920s with all the wild dances and costumes, the 1940s and the nightmarish world of WWII where the love between him and his wife Suzanne blossoms, the 1950s where his intellectually stimulating relationship with editor and translator Barbara Bray thrives and his marriage to Suzanne turns into a repetition of his trauma living with his oppressive mother.

Marsh brings his expertise as an Academy Award-winning director to carefully constructing this world. It’s funny, dark, and alluring but faithful to Beckett’s writing and legacy. It works as a companion piece to his plays and poetry, but also a portal into the dark recesses of his mind. Marsh accurately depicts The Otherworld, a subconscious place where Beckett escapes to have a pep talk with himself. On the other hand, Neil Forsyth’s script feels like a haunting memoir, an escapist dark fantasy into a brilliant mind where time stands still and rapidly evolves at times.

The cinematography is breathtaking, Antonio Paladino’s picture is black and white, austere, and dense. His work here is stunning, creating a visual narrative that is as dynamic as it is oppressive. It brings immediately to mind the works of the great director of photography Łukasz Żal of Cold War and Ida fame. This is Paladino’s feature debut but his command of his cinematography tools and his precision in putting the picture on the screen as it wraps the film in an air of doom, the shades of gray break and crack the image into a tapestry of thoughts and confessionals, even when Beckett is confronting other characters rather than himself. 

The image is grainy and oxidized, giving a documentary feel to the film, compounded by the accurate fictionalized tale of the late master of the absurd. Performances vary from modest to grounded in authenticity, Léonie Lojkine specifically shines as young Suzanne. Her beautiful, clear-as-a-river face reminds us of the pristine blonde stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Her beauty and subtlety of performance make her on the same level of intensity as the veteran Gabriel Byrne who steals the show as Beckett in his older stage.

Dance First is a tragicomedy, an absurdist meditation on the artist’s search for meaning and failure to find any. Hardcore Beckett fans and lovers of black-and-white films that work as a portal to a different time and stage in humanity will both fall in love with this film. 

Dance First is currently playing in select theaters and is available on Digital platforms courtesy of Magnolia Pictures.