THE DISTANCE FROM HERE
At the Duke, 229 W. 42nd St. Through June 5. Telecharge, (212) 239-6200.
NEIL LaBute specializes in edgy, nasty, mean struggles between the sexes. In movies and plays like “In the Company of Men” and “The Mercy Seat,” he’s relished the fight between upwardly mobile men and women.
That’s why his new play is such a surprise. “The Distance From Here” deals not with the savvy climb up the ladder but with life on the bottom of the barrel – something LaBute regards with smirking disdain.
The action – directed with angry explosiveness by Michael (“Rent”) Greif, who recalls Elia Kazan in his flawless handling of his talented young cast, Anna Paquin among them – takes place in the grim, anonymous heartland, home to the teenage friends Darrell and Tim.
As energetically portrayed by Mark Webber, Darrell spits tacks: He’s suspicious of everybody and quick to sniff out any slight to himself, even one committed by his girlfriend years ago. His shy, recessive friend Tim drapes his head in a hood and is in general more sensitive and generous.
Logan Marshall-Green makes Tim the more restlessly interesting and unpredictable of the two misfits. Alison Pill is quietly excellent as Jenn, Darrell’s girlfriend on whom Tim has a secret crush.
Darrell has a lot to deal with on the homefront. His 38-year-old mom, Cammie (Melissa Leo, of TV’s “Homicide”), is sexy, saucy and not very interested in Darrell.
Her beer-drinking, TV-watching boyfriend, Rich, is a vet of the Gulf War, endowed by Josh Charles with a likable but somehow repellent charm.
Turns out, Rich is secretly carrying on with Cammie’s 21-year-old stepsister Shari (Paquin), who’s hot to trot with anyone, including Darrell. That Shari has a baby, who’ll later feature in the action, doesn’t seem to slow her down.
The always watchable Paquin (the Oscar-winning star of “The Piano”) gets Shari’s essential dynamic, but somehow lacks the flamboyant sexuality the character demands.
The complete absence of fathers or father-types is noticeable in this bleak world. Indeed, the utter lack of all moral standards climaxes in the play’s devastating final events.
Unfortunately, “The Distance From Here” merely proves what it set out to prove: Trailer trash is bad. Therefore, it will behave badly; at best, it will behave stupidly.
LaBute needs to let a little eternal sunshine into his spot-stained mind.