Mesmerizing gut-punch

‘The Dinner’ feels like a play, digs deep like a novel

Sometimes when you go to the movie theater, you end up seeing great traditional theater. That’s exactly what “The Dinner” serves up. 

Rather than stilted cinema, a strong visual sensibility from director Oren Moverman helps this chamber piece expand beyond the restrictive frame of a “taped play” that often handicaps movies set in a specific location (the recent “Fences,” for example) while giving it an Altman-esque organic flow.

In the vein of Tony-winning dramas like “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and the more recent “God of Carnage,” this four-hander about adults confronting a family crisis is actually based on a 2009 international best-seller by Dutch author Herman Koch. It’s not the broad indictment of rich white people that the works of Edward Albee are, but, as a specific morality play, “The Dinner” is as challenging as it is riveting.

This was a divisive polarizer among critics at the Berlin and Tribeca film festivals, as aggressive experiments with form often are. Even so, “The Dinner” delivers precisely what high-minded cinephiles often beg for: a probing examination of people, individually and in relationship, that keeps revealing itself in ways that prompt you to rethink your assumptions, feelings, biases, and judgments. “The Dinner” unsettles you in all the right ways.

Two wealthy couples, a pair of brothers and their wives, meet at a posh restaurant to discuss a disturbing event involving their sons. Richard Gere and Steve Coogan play brothers Stan and Paul Lohman, Rebecca Hall and Laura Linney their wives Katelyn and Claire (respectively). Stan, a congressman with higher ambitions, calls the meeting to hash out how they should address this private issue. If it goes public, the fallout would destroy their families, not to mention Stan’s career.

While the focus remains on the core quartet, Moverman employs insightfully calibrated flashbacks to flesh out specific psychologies and relational tensions. These flashbacks are sophisticated, not merely expository, peeling back internal layer after layer. The accumulated tensions fuel the subtext of the present crisis. This is a movie that feels like a play but digs as deep as a novel.

Moverman elevates the aesthetic with beautiful, motivated camera work. The frame lingers on its subjects in a way that magnifies anxieties and psychology, and judicious editing empowers the actors to take full ownership of their characters. Moverman gives them room to modulate and define these performances through lengthy takes rather than splicing them together through several. Moverman also astutely uses the location to poke satirical holes. It’s a restaurant so ridiculously elite that the garçon describes a select cheese as “controversial” with a straight face.

A strong ensemble piece, “The Dinner” is ultimately a Steve Coogan showcase. Known for his comic skills, Coogan is devastating as a nihilistic history teacher who can’t cope with the complexities of history or the people who made it. This dysfunction applies to his family history, too, but Coogan brings nuance, even humanity, to a character that could’ve strictly been angry.

Linney, Gere, and Hall each navigate the strengths and weaknesses of their own characters with aplomb. Linney in particular creates sympathy for Claire’s selective moral relativity by establishing her as a pillar of strength under fragile circumstances, and Gere convincingly fights for moral clarity in the most unlikely of archetypes: a career politician.

Cate Blanchett originally signed on to make this her directorial debut before conflicts caused her to bow out, and her interest speaks to how rich and provocative the film is. The finale goes one melodramatic step too far, and its end is intentionally frustrating, but these are nitpicks in an otherwise absorbing, mesmerizing gut-punch that should spark intriguing post-viewing arguments of its own.

Full Circle

A brief rundown of what’s happening at Circle Cinema

OPENING MAY 19

Norman
A dramatic thriller made with a light touch, Richard Gere stars as Norman, a scheming New York fixer who befriends a young Israeli politician. Three years later, Norman’s life is dramatically changed for better and worse as a result of their friendship. Directed by Oscar-nominee Joseph Cedar (“Footnote”), it co-stars Michael Sheen, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Dan Stevens, and Steve Buscemi. Rated R.

A Quiet Passion
A biopic from director Terence Davies (“The Deep Blue Sea”) about American poet Emily Dickinson, from her early life as a schoolgirl to her later years living as a reclusive, unrecognized artist. Cynthia Nixon stars as Emily, and Jennifer Ehle plays her sister Vinnie. Rated PG-13.

Citizen Jane: Battle for the City
A riveting documentary about the 1960s showdown between NYC activist Jane Jacobs and a ruthless construction kingpin in their dramatic struggle for the soul of a neighborhood. Andrew Horowitz, son of Tulsa civic activist Betsy Horowitz, will speak about his mother’s legacy following the 2pm screening on Sunday May 21st. Not Rated.

OPENING MAY 26

Let Me Make You a Martyr
A dark gothic crime movie filmed in Oklahoma, it’s a revenge tale about two adopted siblings who fall in love and hatch a plan to kill their abusive father. Co-starring Marilyn Manson. Opening night premiere on Thur., May 25, followed by Q&A with director John Swab. Rated R.

The Lovers
Tulsa’s Tony Award-winning playwright Tracy Letts stars with Oscar-nominee Debra Winger as a husband and wife who are each having their own extramarital affairs. On the verge of divorce, however, the two start to cheat on their lovers … with each other. Rated R.

OPENING JUNE 2

Neither Wolf Nor Dog
After a white author is summoned by a Lakota Elder to write a book, they go on a road trip through the heart of contemporary Native American landscape. June 2 premiere followed by Q&A with actor Richard Ray Whitman. Not Rated.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?: NT Live
Imelda Staunton stars in this heralded new production of Edward Albee’s landmark play about a young couple pulled into an aging couple’s toxic relationship. Produced at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre. (Thur.,
May 18th, 6pm)

Lost Highway (1997)
The Graveyard Shift presents director David Lynch’s tale of two parallel stories that become connected by a mysterious turn of events. Starring Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette. Rated R. (Fri. May 19th & Sat. May 20th, at 10pm)

Long Strange Trip
This sprawling four-hour documentary is an inspiring and complex look at The Grateful Dead, infamous for their chaotic artistic process and free-wheeling path to legendary status. Never-before-seen footage and interviews offer an unprecedented access to this iconic rock band. All seats $20. Rated R. (Thur., May 25, 6pm)

Kiki
A larger-than-life documentary look into the world of New York City LGBTQ youths of color, empowered by staging elaborate dance competitions. This is the official kickoff event for Tulsa Pride, in conjunction with the Equality Center of Oklahoma. (Tue., May 30, 7pm)

Twelfth Night: NT Live
The daring new gender-fluid modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy of errors, passion, and mistaken identity, staged by director Simon Godwin and starring Tamsin Greig as the transformed Malvolia. (Thur., May 18, 6pm)

Mulholland Drive (2001)
The Graveyard Shift presents a newly restored version of director David Lynch’s surreal tale about an aspiring actor’s hypnotic, sensual, and dark journey into Los Angeles. Starring Naomi Watts and Justin Theroux. Named Best Movie of the Century So Far by a BBC International Critics Poll. Rated R. (Fri., June 2 & Sat., June 3, at 10pm)

Dowry of the Meek
A moving story of redemption about an abandoned polio-afflicted orphan from the Vietnam War whose life is nearly destroyed until a divine encounter changed everything. This powerful documentary is hosted by guest speakers Bob and Marty Wagoner, and made possible by The Windows Ministry Inc. of Tulsa. (Sun. June 4, 2pm)

D-Day Remembered
FREE event screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary narrated by David McCullough. Featuring a display in the gallery from Keith Myers Traveling Military Museum. (Tue., June 6, 2pm & 6pm)

Purple Rain (1984)
The pop musical classic starring Prince, screening on what would’ve been his 58th birthday. Rated R. (Wed., June 7, 7:30pm)