The production has long since ended. In 2012, Sam Mendes (director of American Beauty, Jarhead, and Skyfall) led a production of Richard III in collaboration with the Bridge Project Company and Kevin Spacey (in the titular role). Their tour spanned 3 continents and consisted of over 200 performances. As depicted by first-time filmmaker Jeremy Whelehan, Mendes’s production was a technical marvel, with a cast that worked perfectly in conjunction with one another. All that being the case, the fact that the production of Richard III is long over might lead a viewer to question: Why do we need a behind-the-scenes documentary now?  NOW: In the Wings on a World Stage depicts a loving artistic community in which every member achieves some kind of fully realized actualization.

I wasn’t ready to buy it at first. Oh, clearly the core performance was absolutely wonderful. Sam Mendes’s production of Richard III, as depicted here, was nothing less than a smashing success commercially and artistically. But at first I held reservations about the documentary aspect of, well, the documentary. By this I mean the endless parade of talking heads that tends to fill films of that nature: actors talking about the creative process and the sheer joy they felt at working alongside their heroes, the director talking about the gathering of talents and the sense of actualization felt at the culmination of their efforts, and the technical crew talking about their pride at being associated with such a production. Theater documentaries – and, for that matter, most media-centric documentaries based around a single piece of work – are almost always filled with such footage, which is why the prospect of watching more than one in a lifetime sometimes gives one pause. NOW… is certainly not lacking in any of these clichés, but somehow manages to sell them.

NOW…(or as I have come to think of it, Doing Awesome Things With Kevin Spacey), is a film that relishes little moments. A bit of classical music is played in an off moment on piano by the production’s Clarence. Cigars are enjoyed on a yacht while actors discuss the sheer joys and indulgences they have experienced thus far on tour. An assistant stage manager titters over a bobble-head likeness of herself bestowed by the one and only Spacey as a culminating gift at the end of the tour. Sequences like these give NOW… its purpose.

As Mendes states in the film’s closing moments, theater is something that is transient, that is not truly meant to be captured on film. While Whelehan does capture some of the energy of the performances of Richard III, this does not truly seem to be the goal with the film. The goal is to allow the viewer to bear witness to a functioning theatrical community, during both its on-and offstage moments. Those who have not been involved with a comparable one, regardless of scale, will envy. Those who have will glow with memory.

For more movies check out our article on the new Godzilla movie or this breakdown on the existential weirdness of Spike Jonze’s Her.  And as always come hang out with us on social media over here and here.