Filmed during the last performance at New York’s Longacre Theatre, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice And Men is, quite simply, stunning.

Anna D. Shapiro (who is also credited for the Broadway theatrical production of August: Osage County) is interviewed during the interval and maintains that the play represents the loss of the American Dream, a loss which was faced by many migrant field workers in California during the ‘30s depression-era of the last century. It also reveals the relationship between two men who are disparate in every way and yet they form a bond that is even closer than some brothers. Steinbeck’s tale, superbly directed by Shapiro, mangles their hearts and enters their souls and does a pretty good job of passing on the experience to the audience as well. You feel as if you had snuck on to the set during the performance and bore silent witness to this finely honed production that resonates long after you leave the cinema.

James Franco (127 Hours / Springbreakers) plays George Milton, an intelligent but uneducated man, who has taken on the responsibility of looking after Lennie Small (Chris O’Dowd – St. Vincent / The Sapphires) who is a mentally challenged, gentle giant with a desire to stroke soft surfaces, who hangs on George’s every word but doesn’t realise his own strength. They are due to arrive at a farm where they have work permits, but spend the night out in the open having been dumped off their bus at the wrong stop. We learn about their situation and their dream of owning their own spread, before they reach their destination. Once there, the other workers question their relationship as most men in those circumstances ‘do it alone’, that is with no familial or friendship bonds. They are bindlestiffs – men who carry their possessions wrapped in a cloth and roam from menial job to menial job, trying to eke out a living.

The men working on the farm are a varied lot. Most seem to carry a chip on their shoulder but they include gentle souls like the mule skinner Slim (Jim Parrack - Fury) and the old-timer Candy (Jim Norton – Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets), who represents the end of the working line. The sole female role is referred to only as Curley’s wife (Curley is the son of the farm’s manager); Leighton Meester (The Judge) plays this uncomfortable character, for she is seen as a “slut” but is really just a lonely, desperate woman, seeking company, desperate to talk to anyone. Loneliness is a recurrent theme in this work. In all cases the performances are spot-on. O’Dowd plays his role with utter conviction and his ham fisted stroking of tiny animals is unnerving to watch. Franco is powerful and uncanny. The atmosphere the men create has you on the edge of your seat the whole time.

Steinbeck wrote Of Mice And Men in 1937 when this period in American history was coming to an end. He had, however, lived through the Depression and his novel is considered one of the most powerful stories to cover that era. In this revival piece by Britain’s National Theatre, Franco and O’Dowd bring to life a work which still has the capacity to make its audience feel utterly helpless as they bear witness to an unfolding tragedy in which the men have to confront the fact that their dream - which is one that most Americans yearned for then and still do - was impossible. The dice were stacked against them. In fact, it is a great metaphor for life itself, the struggle to survive in a situation that is completely overwhelming. If you want to see another brilliant production, brought to you by the National Theatre Live and filmed in such a way that you are sitting in the front row, then don’t miss this; it is one of the best theatrical productions you will see all year.

// SALT

Previewed at The Chauvel Cinema, Paddington, on 13 January 2015