Bartleby

Bartleby begins with an appealing promise: Jonathan Parker will treat its comedy framework as a route into character rather than an excuse for noise. The early chemistry between David Paymer and Crispin Glover gives Bartleby an immediate pulse. The story of Bartleby begins from a specific pressure point: A clueless boss has no idea what to do with his mundane office worker whose refusal of duties only gets worse each passing minute. By the end of its 1h 23m running time, the value of Bartleby rests less on novelty than on the care of its execution.

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Jonathan Parker shapes Bartleby with an approach that feels engaging in bursts but unable to maintain the same control. The best directed passages in Bartleby establish an objective, let the characters respond and then allow the pressure to change naturally. Worthwhile ideas compete with an uneven structure in Bartleby, particularly when Jonathan Parker resists the urge to underline an already clear emotion. My main reservation about Bartleby is that the pace alternates between hurry and drift, a limitation that interrupts rather than defines the experience.

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The craft of Bartleby is defined by well judged reactions, supported by well judged reactions rather than overwhelmed by decoration. Parker Film Company gives Bartleby a production framework in which performer rhythm can remain connected to story. Made from a United States production context, Bartleby uses setting and design to clarify mood before dialogue has to explain it. The technical finish of Bartleby works because image, sound and editing appear to be serving the same immediate purpose.

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The central idea running through Bartleby concerns embarrassment, status and the gap between confidence and reality. David Paymer gives that idea a human scale, allowing Bartleby to remain accessible even when its world becomes larger. By returning to a difficult choice, Bartleby turns theme into a source of pressure rather than a message waiting to be delivered. The handling by Jonathan Parker lets Bartleby leave a little interpretive room, which gives its better scenes an afterlife.

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At story level, Bartleby turns the central character and an important relationship into the source of its main tension. The role played by David Paymer becomes the viewer's route through Bartleby, especially when a difficult choice begins to alter the situation. Herman Melville gives Bartleby momentum by allowing choices to create consequences instead of treating each scene as isolated information. Even when the wider conflict pushes the plot toward familiar ground, Bartleby remains attentive to what that pressure means for its characters.

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David Paymer gives Bartleby its most dependable performance, finding a clear emotional intention beneath the plot. Opposite David Paymer, Crispin Glover brings Bartleby a contrasting pace that prevents the central relationship from feeling flat. Glenne Headly widens the ensemble of Bartleby through reactions that suggest a life beyond the immediate scene. Jonathan Parker serves the cast of Bartleby best when a look or pause is allowed to finish before the story moves on.

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For comedy fans who respond to personality and timing, Bartleby is ultimately a qualified recommendation. Its most persuasive combination in Bartleby brings David Paymer together with performer rhythm under the direction of Jonathan Parker. The fact that the pace alternates between hurry and drift prevents Bartleby from being entirely seamless. Even with that reservation, Bartleby has a clear point of view and enough genuine feeling to justify the journey.