WHEN THE REST OF HEAVEN WAS BLUE
Director Max Macadam’s adaptations of four Poe short stories are interspersed with clips from silent films and songs created from Poe’s poetry. Liane LeMaster’s melodies and Lori Anne Wagner’s a cappella singing are equally sweet, but they detract from rather than add to Poe’s writing. Often neither Poe’s lyrics nor the music is particularly memorable, except for “Bridal Ballad To,” in which the irony of the bride’s voice can be clearly heard as Wagner sings a sprightly “And I am happy now.”
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Though any opportunity to see vintage silent films is to be relished, as a transitional device here they seem unnecessary. A clip from Faust introduces the theme of evil invading goodness repeated in the Poe stories that follow. In a clip from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jekyll explains that others’ cynicism had made him feel embarrassed for his goodness, a sentiment echoed in Poe’s “The Black Cat.” The clips are tied to Poe’s work, but the common threads in his writing already link the four comic and horror stories presented. It’s not necessary to pull from outside sources, thereby weakening the production’s focus on Poe.
As the homicidal narrator of “The Black Cat,” Marc A. Nelson exhibits a greater ability to hold back. Revealing frustration gradually, he quietly explains that throughout his life his pets’ friendship has meant more to him than the “gossamer fidelity of mere man.” Like Poe’s words, Nelson is sweet on the surface but with a hint of malice underneath. As malice grows to rage and then to murder, Nelson’s mannerisms become more pronounced–he snaps his chains and looks offstage as if he were being watched–matching Poe’s thickly gothic style. But as the murderer becomes ghoulish and paranoid, Nelson also maintains a boyish remorse, which keeps the portrait from becoming total caricature.
