Love's Labour's Lost
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Movie Reviews of Love's Labour's Lost
Movie Review: Branagh,Cole Porter,Irving Berlin and The Bard as if they,ve always been together!
Summary: 5 Stars
Kenneth Branagh never ceases to amaze me or disappoint me when this great Shakesperean actor/director takes one of The Bard's plays and works his magic and whimsy and brings Shakespeare anew to the big screen.HENRY V,HAMLET,MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING and now LOVE"S LABOUR'S LOST each lovingly and differently interpreted so that the general public may approach Shakespeare in a way that hitherto they may have not.I am such a person.I confess that I have not been a fan of Shakespeare as usually seen in Shakespeare Festivals,Broadway and regional theatres.For me,I have no affinity nor find it interesting;AHHHHH,but thank you Kenneth Branagh for trusting your own sensibilities to continue to reinterpret these masterfully written plays so that certain of us may find Shakespeare more to our tastes.I make no apologies for what some may consider my low-brow approach to Shakespeare via Branagh;IT WORKS FOR ME and I love every last delicious minute of it!
The story to LLL is quite simple: four chums have sworn off women and frivolity for a three year period in order to pursue knowledge and enlightenment.When four gorgeous maidens arrive from France,though, the four chums find it harder and harder to keep their vows.Branagh sets this farce in 1939 Europe just before France is invaded.He styles it with the look and extravagant grandeur of a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers musical with dancing and singing to the melodies of the times from Cole Porter and Irving Berlin and voila...with sharp editing,lighting and dazzling camera work,Branagh transform this Shakespeare play into a WW2 movie musical spectacle.He obviously researched the times well,for the look of Branagh's film is totally faithful to the time period including authentically recreated newsreels and swirling newspaper flashes.It is delightful from the opening scenes of the four chums taking their united vows to the semi-sweet conclusion of the end of the War.Adrian Lester is to be especially commended for his performance.I had seen him live on stage in London in the musical COMPANY and the man can sing and dance!!! The others at times seem obviously out of their elements as singers and dancers,but that is why it IS so good.This is a group of actors first and foremost who happen to be able to sing and dance;not a group of singers and dancers who can't act! BRILLIANT KENNETH.I LOVE ALL YOUR WORK.
As usual,Branagh has Patrick Doyle do his soundtrack.This pairing always works and pleases.Very highly recommended.
Movie Review: Shakespeare And Music? Kenneth Branagh Sets All My Doubts To Rest. He Is A GENIUS!!! Hilarious Performances And Vintage Tunes.
Summary: 5 Stars
At first, I had my doubts if even Kenneth Branagh ("Henry V," "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," "Dead Again," "Hamlet," "Much Ado About Nothing,"; please see my reviews on these films) could pull it off. The last time I saw Shakespeare translated to the modern-day (Tim Blake Nelson's "O," Richard Loncraine's "Richard III," Baz Luhrman's ill-titled "William Shakespeare's Romeo+Juliet" and P.A.'s "Hamlet" starring Ethan Hawke, anyone?), I HATED it. But after reflecting briefly on Mr. Branagh's excellent track record, not to mention his convincing performance as Franklin D. Roosevelt in the made-for-TV movie "Warm Springs" (which I haven't seen in its entirety) and looking at the star-studded cast, including Alessandro Nivola ("Mansfield Park,"), Matthew Lillard (the "Scooby-Doo" movies), Nathan Lane, Alcia Silverstone, Timothy Spall, previous Branagh collaborators Geraldine McEwan ("Henry V") and Richard Clifford ("Much Ado About Nothing") and frequent Branagh collaborator Richard Briers ("Henry V," "Much Ado About Nothing," "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," "Hamlet") with Branagh's film composer Patrick Doyle providing original music alongside the tunes of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II and others, I thought, "I'll definitely give him the benefit of the doubt. He's a great actor, director, producer and screenwriter. As far as I'm concerned, he can do no wrong." Read on.
Kenneth Branagh does it yet again. He combines Shakespeare with classic tunes from the great early 20th century composers and hilarious performances from Timothy Spall and comedian Nathan Lane. Excellent performances by everyone. The only minor disappointment is in the special features, which include 17 minutes worth of deleted scenes, sans director commentary, outtakes and a making-of featurette. Other than the absence of a director's commentary on the deleted scenes (which are well worth viewing, in conjunction with the making-of featurette and the hilarious outtakes), I'm completely satisfied with this movie. Can't wait for Branagh's next two directorial efforts: "As You Like It," a remake of the classic 1937 film starring Sir Laurence Olivier, and "The Magic Flute," based on the final opera of the same name by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; both set to be released next year. Rated PG for mild thematic elements.
Movie Review: Not lost at all !!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This film has several strong points. First and foremost, it is FUN. It isn't a perfectly faithful recitation of the play but the Shakespearian spirit is perfect. The plot is light and always has been, even Shakespeare didn't make this one complex. And there are no big surprises because we've known for 400 years how the story ends and Branagh didn't change that -- but he does give a little twist to the ending and there are several interesting twists and interpretations throughout including framing the story within news headlines. And setting the story in the 1930-1940s is a great device for making the film more accessible to modern audiences, in fact, this is probably the most accessible Shakespeare film that I have ever seen. (If you like this 30's effect, try Richard III with Ian McKellen -- very different but equally good I think.)And as if that weren't enough... The dancing and music are WONDERFUL -- I guarantee that you will be singing in your head (or out loud if you have more talent than me) when the film is over. The song selection was full of classics that you will recognize from other settings and they were made to fit well in LLL. The dancing was beautifully choreographed and well executed. Both the singing and dancing required really versatile actors -- this had to have been fun and challenging to do.
Lastly, the sets and costumes were stunning and effective. The visual effect of the film is very memorable. The use of color is especially nice.
How could it have been better? I don't know.
Movie Review: The least of Branagh's Shakespeare offerings.
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm really of two (or three) minds about this film. LLL is a great play. I would have prefered a straight-forward movie keeping the text intact. With the failure of this movie at the box office and critically, it's unlikely I'll ever see a cinematic return to this play in my lifetime. (I am aware of the BBC version from 1985, but that is quite cut up, too.)
That said, I do enjoy this movie for what it is. The women are beautiful (especially Natascha McElhone). Timothy Spall is a great Armado, even if his part is hacked to pieces. Branagh's handling of the scene where the men are overheard professing their loves (4.3) is excellent. The deleted scene of the Nine Worthies is quite good, and would have been a much better choice for the film proper than that goddawful "There's No Business Like Show Business" number.
Which brings me to the songs and the dancing. I really enjoyed "I Won't Dance" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me," but most of the other performances just weren't as good. Not good enough to justify the cutting of Armado's part! The familiarity of the songs didn't really help it, either. New songs in the style of Gershwin would have been a nice, albeit more difficult, choice.
So, all in all, I'm glad I bought it. I'll watch it here and there, but I'm glad I have the (unabridged) Arkangel Audio tape to turn to when I need a shot of Love's Labour's Lost. Which I need more often than you might think.
Movie Review: Total Frothy Fun
Summary: 5 Stars
Shakespeare at his lightest meets the old standards of musical comedy and vaudeville. This movie is an absolute hoot! Yes, it's Shakespeare, but it doesn't take itself seriously at all. The entire movie is suffused with the dignity of the Marx Brothers. The storyline about a young king and his faithful courtiers who renounce women for their studies is set in the period leading up to World War II. Unfortunately for the king and his reluctant companions, women are on their way and can't be avoided. And the women are fully determined to seduce our heros and make them pay for avoiding them.In addition to the main plot, there is a silly sub-plot about a woman who attempts to sneak into the domain of the king to meet her lover Don Armado (a character that could have been created by Monty Python) This sub-plot comes straight out of vaudeville complete with rubber chickens and mis-directed letters.
The settings are beautiful and the attention to detail is remarkable. Even the martinis are color-coordinated! The use of fake 30s newsreel footage is wonderful.
If you like slapstick and broad humor, you must see this movie. If you like musical comedies, you must see this movie. If you have always wondered what would happen if Shakespeare had been able to cast Esther Williams in his productions, you must see this movie. It successfully blends the pomp and prose of Shakespeare with the music of George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin.