A five-decade marriage between two dancers is the subject of Carmen & Geoffrey, which has its local premiere tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Lecture Hall. Here’s our review of the film.
Carmen & Geoffrey (US, 2005) Dancers/choreographers/actors Carmen de Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder first met in 1954 on a production of Truman Capote’s House of Flowers. Already established members of the dance community, they became fast friends and ultimately married. Directed by Linda Atkinson and Nick Doob, this documentary explores their relationship by utilizing a mix of present-day interviews and archival footage. With its constant references to choreographers and dancers, the movie’s more intended for dance enthusiasts than general filmgoers, something that comes out as Lavallade’s biographer discusses things like the place the two hold in the history of the art world. Still, they are colorful enough as characters (especially the tall, deep-voiced Holder) that the documentary more or less holds your interest for its 85-minute running time. *** (Jeff Niesel)
This article appears in Jul 1-7, 2009.
