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A lot of fun.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Play by Samuel Beckett, this film is available on You Tube. Stars Alan Rickman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Juliet Stevenson

"Play" is a 15-minute short film based on a work by Samuel Beckett. The director is the late Anthony Mingella and he cast a trio of actors that he worked with on several occasions again: Rickman and Stevenson on "Truly Madly Deeply" for example and Kristin Scott Thomas on "The English Patient" of course. Rickman looked a bit like Geoffrey Rush in here I thought. Anyway, we see a world full of urns with heads coming out of these. These heads keep constantly rambling and shouting, but only talk to themselves, not to each other. The makeup work was maybe the best thing about this little movie. It added a nice atmospheric touch to it. i cannot say I was too amazed by the contents however. I did not care for any of the 3 main characters to be honest, neither in a positive nor negative way, and that's usually the worst that could happen. Also, if you are not an English native speaker, make sure you get subtitles, because the dialogs are incredibly fast from start to finish. Final verdict: not a great watch.

This adaptation is one of the most impressive of the often variable series of Beckett on Film productions. Anthony Minghella - I must admit I have not seen his well known films - is spot-on with an interesting interpretation; replacing the quick-fire spotlighting of a dark stage with subtly worked angles, and largely close ups of the three main actors. Juliet Stevenson, Kristin Scott Thomas and Alan Rickman are magnificent; what a task it must have been to have learned all those rapid-fire lines. The camera itself is a player, with its buzzing, denoting fore-grounding and focus on characters. A brilliant editing job is achieved; the play's cyclic repetition is negotiating excellently. This is a very inscrutable text at first viewing, but considering the same material is repeated, many of the verbal tricks become clearer. A convoluted narrative, made up of three different perspectives; always, the language is masterful in its precision. A fine adaptation; perfectly captures the material of a sometimes-overlooked play: one of Beckett's shorter and less lauded works, but one every bit as deadening and obliquely shattering in its impact as the others. Rating:- **** 1/2/*****

Almost impossible to understand for a non-native speaker (I bet even native speakers would have difficulties). But worth seeing. Thrilling, in some way. I didn´t understand much of the story (if it has one) and would need to see it again and again, but it is impossible to get it in Germany (lucky I´ve seen it at all!). It´s a shame, because "Play" is just fascinating.