Love's Labour's Lost
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Movie Reviews of Love's Labour's Lost
Movie Review: Audacious, Experimental Film Making--Bravo, Kenneth!
Summary: 4 Stars
I thought hubby was going to die during the first ten minutes of this. At that point it was a solid romantic comedy by Shakespeare intercut with some pre WWII newsreel type footage. I looked over at him and asked how he liked it. "I hate it," he responded. "Well," I said, "I guess I could watch it myself tomorrow since I want to see them break out into all of those Cole Porter and Irving Berlin numbers during the midst of this Shakespearean comedy." All of a sudden I noticed the remote had crept closer to his chest and he said, "Let's give it another five minutes." I knew I had him and ,sure enough, he was laughing like mad when the burly Spainard broke into "I Get A Kick Out Of You." The tale itself is slight about 4 men who want to get together with 4 women but for this vow they've made to immerse themselves in asceticism for 3 years. That vow is easily broken. The play is also updated to the 1930-1940s WWII Europe, which of course goes better with the music. I think a partial debt is owed here to Woody Allen's "Everyone Says I Love You," which first broke the musical into non-musical material with non-musical stars. However, I'll take bold experimentation any way I can get it, begged, borrowed or blue! Really, it is closer to 4.5 stars but I can't put it in quite the same 5 star class as Ethan Hawke in "Hamlet 2000" or Hopkins and Lange in "Titus." Bottom line: see it.Movie Review: An Excellent Effort
Summary: 4 Stars
Like another reviewer, I too was vaguely dissatisfied on first viewing, but found the gem of enjoyment with this film comes with additional viewings. While it may not be effortless in execution, for an all-but-dead-art-form revival it is exceptional. Few of the tunes are out of place (the only one which, after a while, is a bit jarring is the "Fancy Free" segment, as it doesn't seem to flow from the set and story as much, and showcases a water-dance segment which unashamedly uses an obvious video-reversal to extend a cut.) Most of the tunes are very well executed, and the orchaestration (especially on "Face the Music" and the show-stopping, tear-jerking "Can't Take That Away From Me") is superb.
Nathan Lane steals the scenes he is in with his impeccable comic timing (something Branagh shares with him, although he has far fewer opportunities here by virtue of the script.) He always knows the right look, the right little gesture to put in with each line.
In short, a comic romp of a musical to be enjoyed, and not too much dissected - so I heartily recommend it to anyone open to the experience (another lost art, when the art itself is lost, is the ability of people to enjoy the art.) For Branagh fans it is a must. For musical fans(especially the tin-pan alley type) it is enjoyable. For Shakespeare fans.... well, it's interesting. For fans of all three, it's exceptional.
Movie Review: LLL 40% Shakespeare, 100% fun
Summary: 4 Stars
Love's Labour's Lost is true to the spirit of Shakespeare's comedy if not the text itself. A delightfully entertaining blend of Gershwin, Porter, and a little bit of the Bard, LLL is highly recommended for musical theatre lovers and anyone willing to consider Renaissance theatre in ways not involving pantaloons and talking to skulls. Nathan Lane is brilliant as Costard, here interpreted as a struggling vaudevillian; Lane lends vocal support (the weakest area of the cast) to the eleven o'clock number "There's No Business Like Show Business." Though the ensemble struggles through some of the musical numbers, the bittersweet "They Can't Take That Away From Me" is all the more moving because of their difficulties. The only number which seems not to fit within the framework of the play/musical/film is also its chief selling point; LLL publicity has focused upon the Fosse-esque "Let's Face the Music and Dance," which stands out in an otherwise charmingly coquettish production as a sexually charged sore thumb. As always, theatricality dominates Branagh's directorial style; look for long, sweeping shots and entire scenes filmed with a single camera and no cut-aways. Though many critics lambasted Branagh for cutting well over half of Shakespeare's text, the musical interludes fulfill much of the function of the missing lines in a way that is a dead-on throwback to an earlier generation of entertainment.Movie Review: Fun blend of genres, not for Shakespeare purists.
Summary: 4 Stars
I agree with most of the other reviewers - Branagh is great! I loved his Henry V, Benedict in Much Ado, Hamlet (bummed its not on DVD!) and his Iago in Othello was pretty good although it could have been a touch more evil. In those films he stayed quite true to the text. While I've claimed to be a Shakespeare purist in other reviews, unlike most purists, I have to say I liked this film.
I think I get where Branagh was coming from. He, like most Bard fans, believes Shakespeare was one of the greatest mirrors of the human condition of all time. In this film, Branagh stays true to that aspect of Shakespeare but takes it a step further by incorporating the works of other great portrayers of the human condition, albeit musically - the great song writers of the early 20th Century. Understood on that level, I think Branagh succeeded in blending these two mediums of commentary on love and the human condition and thereby pays homage to both in a very unique way.
If you're looking for a strict representation of Shakespeare's work, this isn't your film and there are plenty out there. But if you're looking for a fun, whimsical, and heart-warming film that pays homage to two great artistic genres and outstanding artists, one from the 16th century and several from the 20th century, this will do the trick.
Movie Review: the sublime and the ridiculous
Summary: 4 Stars
Beautiful words, delightful music, great acting! What could ruin such a mix. The answer, the ego of Kenneth Branagh. He is much too old for the part of a young student. His direction is absurdly literal. For example: probably the best use of the song "Heaven, I'm in heaven..." is sung by Angel Islington in Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. Here the song is ruined by literally yanking the singers up on wires to a ceiling painted to resemble heaven. If a song mentions a hat, the director shows us a hat, and so on. The camera is always doing things that are distracting and annoying. The choreography is nothing but a string of literal quotes, from Busby Berkley to Fred Astaire to Gene Kelly to Bob Fosse. It never flows, just jerks from quote to quote. And while the older actors are superb, there does not seem to be an actor under 25 who can do Shakespeare...they all sound as if they are mouthing words that are not a part of their vocabulary. And the slapstick -- 'taint funny Magee. After all this, I still recommend watching the film. It is much kinder to the clowns than most productions of LLL. Branagh's great speech in praise of love is worth the price of admission. He acts sincerity so well it is almost enough to make us forget what he did to Emma Thompson. And the music is ... heaven.