The ensemble cast includes rich performances by Bill Irwin as the reluctant object of Walken's desire, Ben Gazzara, Rufus Sewell, and the ageless Beverly D'Angelo. There's a lot going on in Cole's play within a play -- indeed, the cinematic adaptation is so busy, there's little space to develop the multitude of subplots. In his 1992 debut, Mac, Turturro effusively encapsulated the struggle of three working-class brothers, but here, challenged by Cole's eclectic array of characters, he seems overwhelmed. When the highbrow high jinks stop whirling, only opulence and some ingeniously haunting puppetry resonate.