Over
the past few years, I’ve made a steady dent in Shakespeare’s body of work, and Much Ado about Nothing is my favorite of
the comedies I’ve read so far. It’s so
sharp and funny, it has such excellent characters in Beatrice and Benedick, and
the dialogue is to die for. This
adaptation is, I’d say, rightfully regarded as the definitive one, and my
Shakespearean repertoire is decidedly fuller now that I’ve seen it.
Standard
Much Ado about Nothing plot
description: three jovial wits return
from the wars and are invited into the home of a prominent Sicilian. Young Claudio is instantly taken by Hero, the
lovely, demure daughter of the house, and self-declared bachelor Benedick
protests too much in his “hatred” for Hero’s spirited, quick-tongued cousin
Beatrice. It’s a play of interference in
love. While Benedick and Beatrice’s
friends conspire to throw the love/hate pair together, the piece’s villain
seeks to pollute Claudio and Hero’s prospective happiness.
As with
any adaptation, casting is key, and this film delivers big time. Kenneth Branagh pulls triple duty, providing
the direction, the script, and the role of Benedick. He’s as excellent as ever, but I think my
experience with The Hollow Crown and
other adaptations are broadening my horizons, because he’s no longer the be-all
end-all of Shakespearian performers for me.
It sounds like faint praise, but it’s no slight to Branagh – it’s just a
celebration of having even more actors to love for their Shakespeare, like Ben
Whishaw and Tom Hiddleston. And Emma
Thompson is stunning as Beatrice.
Sparkling with wit, both strong and playful as the situation requires,
and all-around amazing. If I were
romantic, I’d probably be in love with her.
Other highlights include Denzel Washington, who is every inch the royal
Don Pedro, a very young Robert Sean Leonard (Wilson from House) as Claudio, and a kooky-but-fun Michael Keaton as comic
constable Dogberry. Imelda Staunton and
Phyllida Law are also in the film, but their roles are fairly small.
Less
successful is Keanu Reeves as Don John – let’s just say it doesn’t work and
leave it at that. And Kate Beckinsale’s
Hero… She’s fine in the part, sweet and beautiful, everything Hero should
be. I have no complaints with her
performance. However, the movie is
really striking in showing how limited her role really is. I can’t remember the exact time, but I know
it was at least 15 minutes before she
had a scripted line, despite being present onscreen for much of that time. Although the film obviously cuts stuff for
time, her screentime is pretty proportional to her stage time. It’s crazy how little she actually gets to
do, which, as a commentary on the “perfect woman” of Elizabethan society, is
interesting. It’s no wonder Benedick and
Beatrice pull the play out from under Claudio and Hero, and it’s clear which
pair Shakespeare is more invested in.
The
adaptation as a whole is excellent. I especially
like the opening of the masque, and the culling scenes with both Benedick and
Beatrice are a lot of fun. If I have a
complaint, it’s that I wish the dirty jokes were more plainly delivered as
such, because it’s always so much truer when the naughty bits are given their
due, particularly in the comedies.
Warnings
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