FILM REVIEW

Film: Waiting for Godot Director: Michael Lindsay-Hogg

Run time: 120 minutes Release date: Feburary 4, 2001

Genre: Absurdist fiction, Tragicomedy Available on: Youtube

Based on: 'En attendant Godot' by Samuel Beckett.

Cast: Barry McGovern, Johnny Murphy, Alan Stanford, Stephen Brennan and Sam
McGovern

Storyline: Two tramps waiting for a mysterious figure named Godot without any certainity

of whom they are waiting for or of whether he, or it, will ever come.

The movie 'Waiting for Godot' is based on a drama written by an Irish playwright Samuel
Beckett, first performed on 5 January 1953. It is an absurd comedy, tragicomedy that is presented
in two acts.The key elements of this movie are: Absurdism, tragicomedy, uncertanity, catharsis,
existentialism, waiting(which is the presentation of ignorance, impotance and boredom) and
reflection of modern man's experience.

The whole movie revolves around two tramps, Vladimir(Barry Mc Govern) and Estragon
(Johnny Murphy), also referred as Didi and Gogo, waiting beside a tree for a mysterious figure
named Godot without any certainity of their meeting. These two tramps go on waiting and pass
their time with endless cross-talk. But beneath farcical surface lies a matter of serious concern.
Then we also find another engimatic pair of 'Pozzo- Lucky' who represents the master and slave
relationship. The Lucky-Pozzo episode is grim and pathetic who on the other day forgets
everything about the previous day and becomes dumb and blind respectively. The best scene is
delivered by Stephen Brennan as Lucky and his monologue seems to make him fit in the role of
an absurd hero and the most tragic character. During the course of the movie, it develops into the
allegory of human life which presents human life and human situation as absurd in the modern
world. The tree, rope and belt in the movie also depicted that how humans try to fill up the void
of absurdity by sinking into a minimalistic decor. The irony of this movie is that there is a
repitition of events but, as an Irish critic has said, in 'Waiting for Godot' "Nothing happens
twice".

This movie is basically free from the traditional plot, has all flat characters, there is in it no story,
no spectacle, no action, no star cast, no climax and not even a woman in the cast but the reason
of its popularity lies in the fact that it depicts a situation which has a general human application
everywhere. The movie shows a subtle series of daft conversations that touch on everything
from carrots, turnips and bones to slavery, smelly feet and smellier breath, man's inability to see
and Godot's unwillingness to show up. The key note of this movie is found in the words of

1
Estragon who comments: " nothing happens, nobody comes, nobody goes, it is awful".

The 120 minutes of movie shows the reality of today's world and each actor of the cast makes
those minutes worthwhile. However, at many scenes it turns out to be quite dull, painful and
illogical but that is what the movie is all about, it shows the strange absurdity and questioned the
purposelessness of this thing what we call life. Though this movie cannot be easily understood by
an average person. We can consider it as stunning black comedy, if one have the capacity to
understand it.

The whole movie is located in one single spot and has a very stationary character. Its main theme
of the futility of man's aspirations comes across nicely though. The camera work was subtle but
superbly done. The location, scene, sequences and characters were perfectly potrayed. As
compared to other versions of 'Waiting for Godot' that I have watched, this version directed by
Michael Lindsay-Hogg has a perfect cast, camerawork and the most perfect time and pace
throughout.

Submitted by:

Himani Kotwal

Roll no. : 02