Much Ado About Nothing
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Movie Reviews of Much Ado About Nothing
Movie Review: Who said there was one better playwright than Shakespeare?
Summary: 5 Stars
Shakespeare and his entangled love affairs are as famous as Dracula and his blood cult. But we recognize here the friar who advises a fake death to the girl and we remember that Romeo and Juliet came first in 1596. Shakespeare started with the tragedy around the clandestine marriage of the two heroes, and then moved on to a comedy that sounds at time very tragic, Much Ado About Nothing in 1598, and he doubles the merriment by having two weddings. And he will go on with As You Like It in 1600 and its four marriages under the auspices of the thrice crowned goddess Diana. And this was a model of perfection that he had kept from A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1594. But this present comedy could have been a drama at least if not a tragedy since the death being false, based on a false accusation what's more, could have led to a duel and one real death before being discovered as a fake, and it leads to the arrest of the villain who had arranged the fakery so that a happy love wedding was turned into a dramatic denunciation of the impurity of the bride. That's probably why he doubled the first line of action with a second that reminds us of The Taming of the Shrew (1593) and that second line will lead to the second marriage that will bring everyone, except the plotter, to merriment, gaiety and dancing. But this production is admirable because the setting of the play in a real garden and rich mansion in more or less renaissance clothing though it could be slightly more recent gives to the actors all the space they need to dance, play, hide, run, and many other things. The acting is admirable and they really make the language sing the way it should, sing joy as well as pain, sing sadness as well as happiness. Of course the language is also a little bit difficult but we get used to it very fast and we follow the music of it as well as the words, and the actors were directed into speaking as if they were singing, to the point of even having a failed attempt at real singing that sounds like a cat being disemboweled. And the final but suspended lack of clemency against the guilty plotter is there to remind us that everything may end with songs and dances, but there is always some drama to bring to an end sooner or later, and in that case outside the time limits of the play. But yet I always wonder about what such comedies, or tragedies like Romeo and Juliet, could look like in Shakespearean times when women were not allowed on the stage. So many girls played by teenagers must have been funny, with an echo in the play when Beatrice speaks of men with a beard or men without a beard and the latter are less of a man than she would ever like. That was said by a man without a beard in 1598. I guess we would find it funny and even maybe ridiculous today. But it should be attempted. Shakespeare played on the situation quite often with varying motivations.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
Movie Review: Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Summary: 5 Stars
Here's the deal. The best way to appreciate Shakespeare is on a DVD with subtitles. But it has to be performed by some folks with the proper appreciation of the Bard. Mayhap that comes naturally to actors, or at least it tries to, since he was one of them. I dunno.
I know this. You can show this DVD to Chinese students who'd rather be thinking about computer games or Hello Kitty or puberty, where English is a second (really a third or mayhap fourth) language, hundreds of years and thousands of miles away from Shakespeare's intended audience, and they'll laugh so hard tears come out of their eyes. If you're me, you can show it 20 or so times and the tears of laughter still come out of YOUR eyes. Name ONE other author who can do that.
Parallel structure, which I've mentioned before. The young couple is in love at first sight, the older couple may be a bit too proud to hook up without some manipulation but in their defense they actually speak instead of doing the goo-goo-eyed shuffle. Shakespeare really sends up our attitudes in this one, and in fact drifts into tragic territory that pisses off many students. As he would have wanted. I love its cross-genre nature. It's how some of us write e-books. Rules are for fools.
Love at first sight. Seriously. What up with dat? Actually being confident enough to communicate with the one you love. Why's that so freaking shocking? And why is a damn so-called COMEDY making me ask these questions? Because I'm talking about Shakespeare, that's why. And probably screwing up this review in the process.
Early on, verbal humor aplenty. You won't get it all. You don't care. You get the gist, the mood, and by my troth you can watch it again and again.
Each scene builds upon what preceded it. Possibly, much Shakespeare does that. But I've been reviewing scripts ere now. This is my first review of an actual performance, and it's gonna be different because of that.
It's quite easy for me to summarize plot and character, since I've seen it about 20 times, but I don't wanna. Watch the dang thing and you'll be able to do that yourself. Or read it at Gutenberg, if you're feeling so inclined. Or even in the Cliff's Notes I've mentioned elsewhere if you're a geeberhead. Nobody cares.
After all these viewings, what works for me is the language. Stuff I missed the first 19 viewings. Stuff that convinces me that, if we were to manage the impossibility of producing another Shakespeare, we'd pump him full of Ritalin and try to turn him into a burger flipper. And then he'd defy our plans and write any damn way. Ha!
I think the bottom line is that I need some more Shakespearean DVDs. I've also greatly enjoyed THE MERCHANT OF VENICE but probably reviewed it badly, and I have some others that mayhap weren't quite so faithful to the Bard. We'll see, won't we? I'll keep writing these reviews. Yes I will.
Movie Review: Hilarious Film Adaptation
Summary: 5 Stars
I think I'm yet to see a film by Branagh that I haven't enjoyed, and his interpretation of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" is no exception. His cast is excellent, from Michael Keaton to Denzel Washington, and I really enjoyed the interaction between the characters and the way they brought life to the work. However, my favorite performances belonged to Kenneth Branagh as Benedick and Emma Thompson as Beatrice. They were absolutely hilarious, and yet very sad. Beatrice especially seemed to fall into this category; while she was talking to others, she was very witty and humorous, but as soon as she fell out of the limelight and muttered under her breath or said something quietly, you realized that she wasn't all that happy. The idea that she used to be in a relationship with Benedick was particularly obvious in her performance, though I didn't even notice it while reading the play. In the film, Beatrice would follow up her wittiness with a longing or wistful expression and a solemn sentence, and after being directly insulted by Benedick during the festival, she seems to become very sad and reflective. As a contrast, I don't really see this in Benedick at all. He never seems sad, just angry at his kinsman Claudio becoming married. Rather than mourning this fact, he simply becomes resentful and angry. This seems to add some clarity to what happened in the relationship between Benedick and Beatrice. While a little bit of humanity is shown through his character when he questions why Beatrice would ever love him, Benedick seems to be more than anything a simple and unfeeling character until his circumstances force him to grow up and make a decision (to challenge Claudio). However, even this decision isn't an original thought or something he wanted to do, so even in this he seems a little childish - he's just following the wishes of someone else.
Benedick seems to reflect many negative male stereotypes in that he doesn't really listen, he doesn't care about the feelings of others, and ultimately his actions are more for his benefit than anyone else. He struggles for power and even in the final marriage sequence; he proves that he's in control of the relationship when he decides to kiss Beatrice. Despite all these follies, he's still my favorite character in the film and play and I think that he, more than anyone, makes the play humorous and entertaining. This is just another way in which his character contrasts with that of Beatrice. Beatrice seems to reflect all the positive characteristics of a strong woman while Benedick reflects many negative stereotypes of an immature man.
These differences in characters, especially when involved in a romance, make "Much Ado About Nothing" a very compelling and entertaining story. The joking keeps the play funny and entertaining, while the subplots complement the humor by adding substance and seriousness.
Movie Review: Sigh no more, Ladies, Sigh no more...
Summary: 5 Stars
My first exposure to the genius of Kenneth Branagh was last year in English class. We watched Hamlet and I was so impressed by the ability of Branagh to deliver difficult Shakespeare lines as though they were contemporary English. I did some research and found this romantic comedy. Romantic comedy? Shakespeare? All I knew of Shakespeare was tradegy, jealousy, and envy. So you can imagine what a wonderful suprise this film was!
I object only slightly to the questionable casting; some actors just don't seem to fit the bill. However, the performances of Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh more than make up for the less-than-perfect ones of others. The two, married at the time, are a delight to watch onscreen, bickering and sparring with witty words that only Shakespeare could dream of.
The setting is Messina, Italy, an idyllic paradise seemingly cut off from the world. Indeed, the only whiff of reality we get is the notion of men returning from an unnamed war. This is really the tale of two sets of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice and the younger pair, Claudio and Hero. Benedick and Beatrice fight a merry battle of words that ends, thankfully, just before someone's heart really gets broken. The other love story is given more gravity but is lackluster compared to the tale of the older pair.
If you have ever shied away from Shakespeare due to complexity of language, then, I pray you, watch this film and be astounded by the universality of his themes. Put on subtitles and get lost in the wonderful way the Bard weaves his words, and immerse yourself in the pitch-perfect deliveries of those words in the hands of such veteran actors such as Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson.
A young Kate Beckinsale fulfills her duty of looking pretty, but doesn't contribute much to the acting talent of the film. Emma Thompson looks ravishing in low-cut white dresses, tanned and wind-swept. The heat of the Italian summer certainly released some passions in these actors, as evidenced on the screen.
On the whole, a delighted film for a summer evening, and educational to boot. English teachers, take note.
Movie Review: Branagh brings Shakespeare to life!
Summary: 5 Stars
Kenneth Branagh is, undoubtedly, my favorite Shakespeare actor and director. He casts based on talent rather than popularity and his choices really pay off. His own roles are instilled with a vibrant energy and life not often seen in film.This screen adaptation of Shakespeare's romantic comedy takes us on a light-hearted adventure of match-making and deceit. Branagh plays Benedick, a soldier in the company of Don Pedro of Aragon and a "professed tyrant" to the female sex who swears he will die a bachelor. Emma Thompson, then Branagh's wife, plays Beatrice, a free-spirited female version of Benedick. The two are engaged in a "merry war" of wits, and constantly offend one another. Their friends, however, see them as the perfect couple and endeavour to bring them together against their own wills.
The second love story is that of Claudio, another favored soldier of prince Don Pedro, played by Robert Sean Leonard, and Hero, a career-starting role for actress Kate Beckinsale. Theirs is a case of love at first sight, and they soon become engaged to be married. Don John, the prince's outcast brother, however, will do anything to destroy the happiness of one of Don Pedro's favored men. He and his henchmen enter into a plot to break up the engagement.
Don Pedro is played by Denzel Washington, and the role highlights his amazing versatility and talent as an actor. This is definitely one of his best performances. It is also refreshing to see a movie where the good brother is played by a person of color and the bad brother, Don John (Keanu Reeves) is white. Branagh made an excellent casting choice and both characters shine.
Comic relief is provided by an outstanding performance of Michael Keaton as Dogberry, the local sheriff who's more than a little off his rocker, but harmlessly entertaining. Delightful performances are also given by Richard Briers as Leonato, Brian Blessed as Antonio, and Richard Clifford as Conrade.
With great acting, verbal and physical comedy, and a wonderful musical score, this film is a definite must-see for any fan of Shakespeare and Kenneth Branagh. A truly delightful movie!