‘The Sea Gull’: The “invaluable” movie Brian Cox wants everyone to see
Though he might be best known these days for his work on TV, most notably as the demented patriarch of the Roy family, Brian Cox has made his fair share of excellent movies.
His back catalogue is absolutely staggering, ranging from nail-biting thrillers like Zodiac and Manhunter to popular comedies like Match Point and Rushmore. He even voiced Santa Claus in a 2024 animation called That Christmas, a masterpiece of casting if ever there was one.
As well as having starred in some stellar films, Cox is also a fan of the medium as a whole. When The New York Times released its list of the greatest films of the 21st century, he was one of the celebrity consultants, championing lesser-known projects like the Russian crime drama Leviathan and Michael Haneke’s chilling parable, The White Ribbon.
Cox displayed his love for obscure features once again during a piece written for Variety. The essay was part of the magazine’s series allowing famous faces to champion their favourite TV shows. The actor opted to write about the popular channel, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), rather, using the example of an underseen adaptation of a classic play to express why he thinks it’s so important.
“Just recently, I watched an adaptation of The Seagull from 1968, directed brilliantly by Sidney Lumet,” he wrote, “Not a lot of people know about that movie, but it’s got James Mason, the wonderful Vanessa Redgrave, dear David Warner and Simone Signoret. It’s a major director producing and directing a major classic of the theatre; it’s invaluable. And suddenly it pops up last night on TCM, like a gem.”
Based on Anton Chekov’s revolutionary play of the same name, The Sea Gull (it’s written as is for some reason) was adapted for the screen by Moura Budberg, a fascinating Russian woman who dated HG Wells and was supposedly a double agent for both the United Kingdom and Soviet Union. Signoret plays the former stage star visiting her brother in poor health, while Warner and Redgrave play young lovers of drastically different temperaments. The movie received mostly unflattering reviews from contemporary critics, although Time Out‘s description of it as an “actor’s film” might explain why Cox is such a fan.
First produced at the end of the 19th century, The Seagull has served as the basis for a number of feature films over the years. Four years after Lumet’s attempt, a version of the play’s native Russian was released, starring acclaimed Russian actor Alla Demidova in the lead role. The subtextual drama became a 2014 film called Days and Nights, which saw it transpose the story to an American setting in the 1980s. It features an all-star cast including Katie Holmes, Ben Whishaw, and Mark Rylance, and Saoirse Ronan starred in a more typical version in 2018.
For those who live outside of America, TCM is a TV channel focused on film. What separates it from other movie-based channels is its attention to detail, original programming, and dedication to film preservation. TCM has a terrifyingly devoted fanbase that takes part in activities such as a yearly film festival and even a cruise. The channel is also involved in other film-centric events, such as the recent auction of personal items belonging to the late David Lynch.
