Eerie Ideology

ROPE IS especially though-provoking and dramatic entertainment. The cast does a superb job in both realistically portraying the central conflict in the Hitchcock classic and in providing an unusually energetic and suspenseful performance.

The cast does an excellent job of conveying Hitchcock's message that in the isolating circumstances of modern society ideas can easily flourish into ideologies, dangerously ripe for adoption by a disturbed individual. In Rope, the philosophy of an intellectual, Rupert Cadell (Mark Dolan), that the privileged few have the right to commit murder is adopted up by the deeply emotionally and intellectually insecure Brandon (Cyres Sanal). Brandon assuming he is one of the privileged few, sets out to test Rupert's philosophy by attempting to carry off the perfect murder. He kills a Harvard graduate (David) and has a party the night of the murder where he and his accomplice entertain David's parents, his fiance, a romantic rival and Rupert. The unsuspecting guilty anxiously await David's arrival dining all the while on the chest it which he is entombed.

As soon as the party gets under way, it becomes clear that Brandon's need to prove his superiority makes him betray ever more obvious indications of his guilt. His choice of the nerve-racked Susan (Sue Kelly) as an accomplice, numerous slips of the tongue, and his unusually fervent advocacy of his ideology of the right to murder makes it inevitable that Rupert will suspect he has sired, more than an academic disciple. After inducing Susan to break down for the fifth time in the party--this time by confronting her with the murder weapon (a piece of rope)--Rupert fires two shots in the air--summoning the police and repatriating Brandon's diseased mind with reality.

JUST AS BRANDON'S masochistic nature leads to his downfall. Rupert's horror at learning the consequences of his beliefs makes him recant his carefree talk. But the case with which an ideology can rise and become the belief system of a diseased mind is apparent. Rupert, perhaps seldom dealing with anyone outside of intellectual circles, can freely talk in abstractions of doing away with inferior beings until he is confronted with the concrete implications of his doctrine. The fantasies brewing in Brandon's mind, meanwhile, were no doubt fueled by his lonely urban lifestyle.

Written by Hitchcock in the '40s, Rope's use of Rupert's superman ideology makes the play a powerful parallel to Hitler's frighteningly effective use of racist and anti-Semitic propaganda. In both case, immature minds grasped on perverse ideologies, which fueled by intense emotional needs, culminated in disaster.

Director Tony Simon and Producer Leslic Tamarabuchi do a fine job of blending an extremely talented cast into a more modern vehicle for the same theme. Marc Dolan as Rupert and Sue Kelly as Susan deserve especial praise for their convincing performances in difficult roles. Dolan does a fantastic job of portraying the intellectually keen Rupert while maintaining the credibility of the character. He succeeds remarkably in his role, holding the drama together in a lively yet composed performance. Kelly also succeeds in making the nerve-wraught accomplice a credible character.

Jullie Glucksman as David's girlfriend and Cyrus Sanai as Brandon also turn in entertaining and spirited performances. Glucksman excels in her role as David's flirtatious fiance, providing most of the comedy in the play as she effectively counterbalances Rupert's seriousness. Sanai's performance is also outstanding although it suffers somewhat for his failure to give any sense of Brandon's sinking confidence in light of Rupert's mounting suspicious. In all the case deserves congratulations for simultaneously providing quality entertainment and effectively conveying the theme of an extremely difficult script.