“What does have impact is the power acting on display.“
Con Nats 4 /5 roadtolls
So, one day Ralph Fiennes read an autobiography of Bob Moses, ‘The Power Broker’, the man responsible for the roadways that made New York a bustling city. He called his director mate, Nicholas Hynter, who then called David Hare and asked him to write a script. It’s not bad company to develop an idea.
And so Straight Line Crazy was born – a play about a driven man whose vision for New York’s motorways outstripped its leaders. Bob Moses (Ralph Fiennes) dominates every scene and decision in this film, even though it is told by Finouala Connell (Siobhan Cullen) who is a loyal ally throughout the play.
To be honest, a drama about roadways is hardly gripping story telling, even though his decisions destroyed African-American neighbourhoods and alienated the working class. He intentionally ignored an order to build a train to the coast as he didn’t want them ruining his middle-class utopia. The second half is set thirty years later and now Moses faces activist groups, whose power he dismisses.
What does have impact is the power acting on display. Fiennes is more than feisty but his scenes with Governor Al Smith (Danny Webb) in the first half is an acting masterclass. And similarly confrontational scenes in the second half with the young Mariah (Alisha Bailey) and off-siders Finoula and Ariel Porter (Samuel Barnett) reveal what this play is about: Power and leadership. Do great leaders lead the masses or respond to their demands? It’s a typical political quandary.
The other element that makes this play work is the script. It must be nice to have David Hare on hand to turn this staid concept into something so watchable. The three hours fly by and there is no easy resolution. As we hear from one of the protesters, Jane Jacobs (Helen Schlinger) who acts as a secondary story teller, the cities they saved – like Soho and Greenwich Village – are now populated by yuppies, not the underclass and artists they protected. But the World Fair was a failure due to the lack of rail access Moses refused to provide. And Hynter’s direction is spot on. Some of the confrontational scenes are staged as if they’re in a boxing ring. They circle, rage and engage and back away.
When writing about high concepts, the personal developments lag behind. When they are introduced in the second half, it’s as if to point out the impact of ignoring them. Just as Moses ignores the problems of even his most loyal lieutenants, he ignores those of the population he is meant to serve. It’s a subtle irony, and while we may not appreciate the impact the roadways have had on New York, we all know too well the impacts poor planning has had on our cities (and car parks). And it’s still relevant to see the foibles and flaws of those who make these decisions.
Con Nats, On The Screen
