The Forest

As a decadent aristocrat in Alexander Ostrovsky’s pre-Chekhovian Russian comedy, Dianne Wiest wears neurosis on her sleeves—and winds up just a bit heavy-handed. At least she's amusing to watch. But John Douglas Thompson can’t find much joy in the tragedian he plays—there’s little pleasure in his impersonation of a gentleman—and the flavorful Tony Torn, as a comedian, gets almost nothing actually funny to do. No Cherry Orchard, The Forest seems less than the sum of its trees.—Adam Feldman