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The premise of The Performance, which is based on a 2002 Arthur Miller short story, is intriguing and more than a little pertinent for these times even though it is set in 1937.
Harold May (who changed his last name from Markovitz) is a struggling entertainer who is tap dancing his way through life as leader of an American dance troupe. He gets an opportunity that on the surface of things seems irresistible when he is offered more money than he could imagnie to perform just one night in Berlin, Germany. There is danger there however as Harold is a Jewish American and Berlin is seeing the rise of Nazism and anti-semitism. Nevertheless Harold is somewhat in denial thinking he will be immune to all of this, the money is too tempting, and the chance to take this job with his troupe cannot be passed up. What he doesn’t realize is just exactly who the audience is going to be for this tap extravaganza. But when he finds out that the crowd is largely Hitler and his top officers, all bets are off, even as Harold has proven adept in the past in passing himself off as a gentile.
Director Shira Piven (Fully Loaded, Welcome To Me) co-writes and expands the adaptation of Miller’s short story with her co-writer Joshua Salzberg, and in the process provides her brother, Jeremy Piven with the role of a lifetime as Harold. They have been trying to get this film made for a decade, and in that time Piven has polished his Tap skills to a remarkable degree. That it has taken this long to get made turns out to be oddly a blessing as The Performance emerges on to the scene in a time of rising white supremacy and anti-semitism around the globe and in America, making this unique story even more relevant than when Miller wrote it.
Warned by troupe member Benny (Adam Garcia) that even though they have been performing in lesser venues in the Balkans, travelling to Berlin in this circumstance can be very dicey due to his religion, Harold is more than convinced by the deceptively charming German cultural official and arts conneiseur, Damian Fugler (Robert Carlyle) that they can be in and out in 24 hours, even as he slyly still holds back on revealing just who this performance is going to be for. Their initial meeting backstage after Fugler sees the troupe’s energetic tap routines is wonderfully performed by Piven and Carlyle and makes this proposition seem quite credible. When they get to Berlin and see they are treated like superstars it erases any fears. Things get complicated as you might suspect. Carlyle is really choice in this role
So why would this evil Nazi regime be so fascinated by what Harold and his troupe have to offer? It is all in the tap and militaristic-seeming movements (or so they might be perceived by certain parties), something they haven’t seen before, exciting them to their core. The choreography by Jared Grimes is spectacular and the director and her cinematographer Lael Utnik have captured it in style, even at some points with symmetry like a Busby Berkeley routine.
Jeremy Piven looks like he was born to play this role, and he is firing on all cylinders as a man putting his own moral conscience on the back burner in order to pursue a golden opportunity at what he sees as fame and fortune, at least to some degree. His dancing is superb and completely authentic as this engagement careens out of his control. As his ex-lover, Carol, Mamie McCoy is excellent, a woman now unhappily married and in need of the money to such a degree she again teams up with Harold. As Benny, Garcia is right on point, the most aware of world events of the troupe and one who is increasingly queasy in playing it all out. Also very fine is Isaac Gryn, a man of few words hiding behind his 8mm camera and also anxious to no longer hide his homosexuality, a problem be sure in 1937 Berlin. As the sultry Sira who Harold meets and takes a shine to in Hungary before she hooks up with him in Berlin, Lara Wolf also has her moments.
The Performance has taken a while to hit its true spotlight, but the filmmakers are hoping they can latch on to some awards attention now after first debuting it a year ago at the Rome Film Festival and Palm Springs International Film Festival. It timeliness in an age of increasing authoritarianism is frightening. It deserves to fine its audience.
Title: The Performance
Distributor: GVN Releasing
Release Date: January 24, 2025; Plus limited December Awards Qualifying run
Director: Shira Piven
Screenplay: Shira Piven, Joshua Salzberg
Cast: Jeremy Piven, Robert Carlyle, Mamie McCoy, Adam Garcia, Isaac Gryn, Lara Wolf, Daniel Finkleman
Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour and 52 Minutes
