"Neil LaBute: A Casebook "is the first book to examine one of the
most successful and controversial contemporary American playwrights
and filmmakers. John Lahr has written of him, "There is no
playwright on the planet these days who is writing better than Neil
LaBute." While he is most famous, and in some cases infamous, for
his early films "In the Company of Men and Your Friends and
Neighbors," Labute is equally accomplished as a playwright. His
work extends from the critique of false religiosity in Bash to
examinations of opportunism, irresponsible art, failed parenting,
and racism in later plays like "Mercy Seat," "The Shape of Things,
The Distance From Here, Fat Pig, Autobahn," and the very recent
"This Is How It Goes and Some Girls," In films he has also directed
adaptation of his play The Shape of Things, as well as the more
commercial Nurse Betty and Possession. His collection of short
stories, reminiscent of the ethical concerns in his plays, is
titled Seconds of Pleasure.
Like David Mamet, an acknowledged influence on him, and Conor
McPhereson, with whom she shares some stylistic and thematic
concerns, LaBute tends to polarize audiences. The angry voices,
violent situations, and irresponsible behavior in his works,
especially those focusing on male characters, have alienated some
viewers. But the writer's religious affiliation (he is a Mormon)
and refusal to condone the actions of his characters suggest he is
neither exploitive nor pornographic. As Ben Brantley identifies,
LaBute's plays and films make a consistent attack on "the moral
flabbiness, selfishness and all-around nastiness of the male
species, whether at work, at home or at play" which indicates a
"probingmoralism as fierce as that of Nathaniel Hawthorne."
This casebook explores the primary issues of the writer's style,
themes, and dramatic achievements. Contributors describe, for
example, the influences (both classical and contemporary) on his
work, his distinctive vision intheater and film, the role of
religious belief in his work, and his satire. In addition to the
critical introduction by Russell and the original essays by leading
dramatic and literary scholars, the volume will also include a
bibliography and a chronology of the playwright's life and works.
General
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