'The Revisionist' review: Vanessa Redgrave

Maria, whom he has never met, thinks he came to visit. Naturally she has grave war memories, a desperate need for family and, too long into the hour and 45-minute evening, a wrenching secret to share. Redgrave, at least as magnificent up close as in a big theater, lets us watch as almost impish excitement turns to disappointment and, finally, some kind of resignation.

With Eisenberg as the unbelievably ungracious and oblivious jerk, however, Redgrave has nothing solid enough to counterbalance her emotional weight. Director Kip Fagan never finds the shadings that could have made this feel like a real relationship, and I'm told by a native that the set has no resemblance to a Polish apartment. Redgrave does have a few heartwarming scenes in Polish with a friend, a cabdriver, portrayed by the always-good Daniel Oreskes. But surely, in all of New York, a Polish-speaking actor could have been found.

Eisenberg, whose merciless portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in "The Social Network" seemed even more real than the real guy, had a far more canny work, "Asuncion," produced by this same Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in 2011. In a program note, Redgrave declared being "immensely excited" by the script, which she accepted as soon as she read it. Note to playwrights: please, send her better scripts.

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