Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People

Based on an 1882 play, Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People follows Steve McQueen’s Thomas Stockmann as he sets out to convince his fellow townspeople that their lucrative spa is teeming with pollutants – with Thomas receiving plenty of conflict from the town’s mayor (and his own brother), Charles Durning’s Peter. Filmmaker George Schaefer delivers a slow-moving and palpably theatrical adaptation that isn’t, at the outset, as compelling as one might’ve hoped, and yet it’s clear that the movie benefits from its relatively authentic atmosphere and surfeit of compelling performances – with McQueen’s frequently captivating turn as the beleaguered protagonist matched by such stellar periphery players as Bibi Andersson and Richard Dysart. The picture’s somewhat static vibe persists right up until around the halfway mark, after which point Schaefer, working from Alexander Jacobs’ screenplay, delivers a series of compelling sequences detailing Thomas’ increasingly fruitless efforts at proving his point – with the turning point an engrossing scene wherein Thomas discovers that the local paper, having been turned by Durning’s progressively duplicitous character, will not be publishing his scientifically-sound proof. By the time the unexpectedly enthralling final third rolls around – there is, in particular, an engaging interlude revolving around the one-sided debate over Thomas’ findings – Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People has certainly cemented its place as an erratic yet rewarding endeavor that is perhaps more relevant now than ever before.

*** out of ****