Crowds go wild for Hartnett's Rain Man

He can have no doubts as to the warmth of his welcome to West End theatre.

Whenever Hollywood star Josh Hartnett finishes a performance of Rain Man, a crowd of a hundred or more is standing to thank him for taking the time.

Hartnett, 30, is more commonly seen on the big screen in hits such as Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbor.

But for the next three months he has committed to the less glamorous - though arguably more artistically lauded - course of a nightly stint on stage at the Apollo, Shaftesbury Avenue.

The critics were finally allowed in on Friday after the original opening night was delayed by the withdrawal of the original director for family reasons. Nicholas de Jongh, in the Standard today, was impressed, praising the production as improving on the original film, in which Tom Cruise played the part of Charlie Babbitt, now taken by Hartnett. The tall American is "as charismatic on stage as screen," de Jongh concludes.

But the praise was not universal. Michael Billington in the Guardian, questions the very notion of turning a film into a play and describes Hartnett as merely "perfectly competent".

No matter. The audience laughed and some even cried as Hartnett/Babbitt learns to love the autistic brother, Raymond, he never knew he had, played by Adam Godley-Hartnett, softly-spoken and determinedly unstarry compared with some celebrity appearances in London, celebrated his opening night quietly with drinks and pizza in the stalls bar of the theatre.

Nica Burns, the producer who persuaded him to make what is his first appearance on stage, awarded him with a suitably heavyweight gift of the Man Booker Prize shortlisted books.

The young American is evidently determined to make the most of his theatrical sojourn, even making a brief appearance in a one-off performance of Hamlet at the Globe a couple of weeks ago while Rain Man was still in preview. And the crowds adore him, inside and outside the theatre. Every night.

ADORED BY FANS BUT A DAMPENER FROM CRITICS

Michael Billington, The Guardian

Josh Hartnett is perfectly competent as Charlie. He has, however, little chance to show the character's hardedged, neurotic frenzy. The struggle for redemption is over before it has begun.

Charles Spencer, Daily Telegraph

His initially monotonous performance of belligerent anger grows in confidence and depth. The scene when the two estranged brothers recognise and remember each other is beautifully played.

Benedict Nightingale, The Times

His admirable energy has an unfortunate side-effect. It's as if he were fuelled by high-octane petrol, revving up his vocal cords so that, especially at first, words flash by like clusters of racing cars dangerously tailgating each other.

Paul Taylor, The Independent

Hartnett's inexperience is at its most damaging in the silences, which are nerveless absences of speech here rather than the charged moment of intensity that they should be.