‘The Forest’ Review: Oscar Winner Florian Zeller’s New Play Gets Lost in Itself
variety.comDavid Benedict The gap between what you see and what you get has long proved fertile territory for playwrights. At his considerable best, not least his Oscar-winning adapted screenplay of his play “The Father,” French dramatist Florian Zeller (and translator Christopher Hampton) has shown that by cunningly changing what audiences are seeing, he can not only define but also dramatize emotional content.
Parallel games of physical and mental dislocation are back in his new play, “The Forest.” Alas, it’s a very long way from his best.Everything starts simply and traditionally with a scene of a father, Pierre (Toby Stephens), returning to his chic home to his elegant wife (Gina McKee) as they attempt to comfort their distraught daughter (Millie Brady), who has just left a husband who has been betraying her for months.
As the father promptly attempts to soothe her with palliatives like “Sometimes you have to learn to forgive,” audience suspicions are instantly aroused.
From there the (in)action cuts to a scene staged in a room above, in which an older married man (Paul McGann) is discovered in bed with his younger girlfriend (Angel Coulby).
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