THE STORY – Set on one single day in August 1912 at the family’s Connecticut seaside home, the story follows the Tyrone family as it faces the looming dual specters of Edmund’s potentially fatal consumption diagnosis alongside his mother Mary’s increasingly fragile and anxious mind.
THE CAST – Jessica Lange, Ed Harris, Colin Morgan & Ben Foster
THE TEAM – Jonathan Kent (Director) & David Lindsay-Abaire (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 109 Minutes
“Long Day’s Journey into Night” is arguably one of the greatest American plays. The autobiographical posthumous piece by Eugene O’Neill that centers around a family dealing with the struggles of familial relationships and addiction won O’Neill the Pulitzer Prize for drama. The play has had a long history in the theater, premiering on Broadway in 1956 and performed around the world. And the reason is simple. Every actor wants to be in this production since all of the characters – the four members of the Tyrone family – have dramatic moments to shine in. But particularly, every thespian and Broadway diva wants to play Mary Tyrone, the mother of the family who is in active morphine addiction. Much like Hamlet and Macbeth, Mary Tyrone is one of the great parts in theater. Some of the notable former Marys include Katharine Hepburn, Constance Cummings, and Lesley Manville.
This film adaptation marks the third time Jessica Lange has played the role, after having earned a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for the 2016 Broadway revival. Filming began in 2022, but had a difficult production process due to funds running out and the subsequent 2023 actors and writers’ strikes. But after filming, it also went into post-production and distribution limbo. Now, Jessica Lange’s passion project will finally, officially be released to an audience.
One of the reasons this piece hasn’t been adapted to film in decades is that “Long Day’s Journey into Night” is a beast of a play. The average theatrical runtime ranges from three to three-and-a-half hours, which (unfortunately) is not desirable for the average moviegoer. This film, directed by Jonathan Kent – who also directed Lange in the 2016 Broadway revival – runs at a little under the two hour mark. This results in, naturally, an abridged version of the play that a majority of theater audiences have come to know and love. While this may limit the dramatic nature of the piece, this film adaption still showcases the profound reality that each member of the Tyrone family faces.
As with any great piece of theater, the script demands the best of its actors. As stated, all dramatic performers hope for the day they get to share the stage speaking O’Neill’s words, especially in this piece. And while Jessica Lange is a transcendent force as Mary, slowly falling into her delusions from her morphine addiction, the rest of the cast rise up to her expertise. Ed Harris plays James Tyrone Sr. with a desperation that will pull on anyone’s heartstrings. Even with his own addiction and internal struggles as a former performer, James remains optimistic throughout the majority of the film that Mary is – and will be getting – better. Ben Foster and Colin Morgan play the two sons Jamie and Edmund, who are each dealing with their parents’ addictions in different ways. Foster showcases Jamie’s hesitancy when it comes to Mary’s progress and Morgan portrays Edmund’s optimism and desperation to connect with his mother impeccability. But these men are all supporting Lange as she once again tackles this monster of a role in one of the best performances of her career.
On one hand, having a shorter screenplay may make the role of Mary a bit easier to digest, but it also makes it a more difficult role for Lange, as she has less time to portray her arc. Admittedly, the famous monologues are still mostly there, which showcase Lange’s expertise with the role, but the dramatic cuts give us less time with Mary, as Kent tries to find the appropriate balance between her and the men. But even with less screentime as compared to the stage show, Lange’s immense history with the role allows her to appropriately adjust her performance for the camera. Yes, the dramatic monologues where she is slowly losing her grip on reality are exquisite, but the moments in between monumental scenes where she grazes at her hands and gets distracted by them are mesmerizing; you can see the instances where Mary starts to fade into her addiction, which is the result of a skilled and exquisite actor commanding a role that she knows forward and back.
However, the financial troubles of the film can be seen in the final product. Even though it takes place in a home over the course of one day, a majority of the shots are pretty barren. Yes, this can be done to showcase the structure of the family, but with shots that barely feature the four principal actors, few exterior scenes to expand the play into the cinematic, and several moments where specific characters are just not seen for long periods of time, the production’s ability to support this story is questionable. This can also be said of Kent’s direction, who has made his career directing for the stage. (This is his feature directional debut.) And while his theatrical direction is exquisite, there are few cinematic additions made to the piece. Kent’s strength as a theater director comes in the way he manages his actors and allows them space to fully transform. Even with a bare outer layer, the heart and passion of “Long Day’s Journey into Night” is still here.
This version of “Long Day’s Journey into Night” fought tooth and nail to get released to the public, and that in itself is something to celebrate. It’s obvious that the element that hurt the film was the financial troubles that occurred during production. But even with the budget cuts, the message of O’Neill’s words is still present. Here, with a stellar cast, Kent allows audiences who do not live in a theater-based city the opportunity to experience this epic play. And with the stellar performances, it is worth seeing for that reason alone.
