Writer Tim Fountain has gone back to James Leo Herlihys novel for this adaptation of the tale of a naïve and well meaning hustlers experiences in New York in the 70s. The film starring John Voigt and Dustin Hoffman is a classic of the last century, and this version stands up pretty well by comparison.
Charles Aitken is charming and naïve as Joe Buck, the young lad up from Texas to make his fortune using the only talent he has. Things dont work out early on, and he forms an unlikely relationship with Enrico Salvatore Rizzo (Con ONeill), the dirty, crippled, low-life dreamer and thief. Together they finally get Joes career servicing rich women going, but Rizzos health is deteriorating fast. What the play really charts is a male love story, and the cowboys journey from self obsession to real, altruistic friendship. As he says near the end, Im finally doing some thinking without the aid of a mirror.
O Neil is terrific in the Rizzo part, in my opinion every bit as compelling and repellent by turns as Hoffman in the film and we do get some more insight into Joes backstory in this version than we do in the movie. Interestingly though, the style of the piece is quite filmic, with short scenes and jump cuts, almost as if Fountain couldnt get the film totally out of his mind.
The Fringe program says its two hours long it isnt, its at least twenty minutes shorter, which is probably a good thing. Its a nicely directed (John Clancy), designed (Richard Foxton) and well-acted production which if you havent seen the film, will prove a real tear-jerker. If you have seen the film (or read the book) you will watch in much the same way as one watches classic tragedy, knowing the ending, but finding the lead up to it all the more poignant and resonant for that.
