After going so much astray with two contemporary
films, Kenneth Branagh returns to his peak and, for him, safe area of
Shakespeare with “Much Ado About Nothing,” a spirited, successfully acted
adaptation of one of the playwrights most popular comedies. Todd McCarthy said
in his review, “Pitched to the widest possible audience for a classic through
its shrewdly selected Anglo-American cast, clarion-clear enunciation of the
witty dialogue and warm-hearted expression of the piece’s exalted romantic
themes, this rambunctious production should find favor with most viewers
disposed to attending a Shakespeare film.”
Openness was clearly the main concern for Branagh in
adapting one of the playwright’s more comedic plays. Branagh with to great lengths
to make sure that nothing is left unclear, and to make every scene as physical,
playful and loud as possible.
McCarthy said, “Result is a film that is continuously
enjoyable from its action-filled opening to the dazzling final shot, one that
offers a very generous welcome to newcomers to the play, and reminds those
familiar with it of its heady pleasures. Only real drawback, and not an
insignificant one, is pic’s visual quality, which is unaccountably
undistinguished, even ugly, especially considering the sun-drenched Tuscan
location.”
Looking outside, Branagh inserts this take of irrationality,
betrayal, and excellent love with a refreshing vulgarity. As a group of
victorious soldiers returns from war on their horses, the love between men and
their waiting women becomes intense as they prepare for the evening’s festivities.
All should be well with Leonato (Richard Briers): the
righteous Don Pedro (Denzel Washington) helps young Claudio (Robert Sean
Leonard) pursue and win Leonato’s lovely daughter Hero (Kate Beckinsale, in her
film debut), while the proudly bachelor Benedick (Branagh) and the feisty Beatrice
(Emma Thompson) trade insults and points with such enthusiasm and skill that
they must unavoidably become a team.
McCarthy said, “But the fly in the ointment is the
sulky, jealous Don John, who hatches a scheme that convinces Claudio of Hero’s
unfaithfulness on the eve of their wedding, resulting in a chain reaction of
insults, renunciations, misunderstandings, deceptions and physical assaults
that take most of the tale’s second half to resolve.”
Playing a huge part in making things right is the
eccentric sergeant Dogberry (Michael Keaton), who, with his motley band of
deputies, manages to execute justice through the most unlikely of ways.
McCarthy notes, “Setting most of the action in and
around a sprawling hillside villa baked by the heat of summer and passion,
Branagh sends the actors spinning through the play’s intricate paces at an
almost breathless clip, but with diction so clear that very little of the
verbiage will be lost on anyone.”
McCarthy continues, “To cement the connection,
temperature of the characters’ bodily fluids has been raised to quite a high
level, giving the proceedings a lubricious tone that could end up making this
“Much Ado” a good date movie.”
In the context, it’s sad that more care was not put
into the film’s graphic quality. McCarthy noted, “Although Branagh’s physical
staging is exemplary, the visual approach is strictly utilitarian.”
McCarthy continued, “Still, the day is more than
carried by the talented thespians and Branagh’s infectious, energetic
enthusiasm. Branagh and Thompson bring appealing intelligence and verbal snap
to their ongoing sparring.”
McCarthy compared, “Looking almost as weird as
Beetlejuice, Keaton delivers a very alert, surprising turn as the malapropping
constable, reminding in the process that he should never stay away from comedy
for too long.”
Washington is pleasingly determined as Don Pedro,
while Robert Sean Leonard is very capable in the main role of Claudio. For
those who might have grunted at Keanu Reeves playing Shakespeare when looking
at his performance in “My Own Private Idaho” and his unconvincing period work
in “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” his Don John comfortingly announces early on that “I
am not of many words.” He ends up keeping his promise and does a convincingly
evil person.
Richard Briers and Brian Blessed are amazing as the
elders of the community.
McCarthy ended his review by noting, “It all wraps up
in wondrous fashion, as the climactic Steadicam shot dashes across a courtyard,
though a house and into a garden before soaring high up above dozens of
dancing, cavorting merrymakers to the accompaniment of Patrick Doyle’s
movinglycelebrator music.”
I believe I had started watching this on one of the
movie channels, but I didn’t go back to watch it until it was available for
free On Demand. This is a good Shakespeare adaptation. I would recommend everyone
to check it out because the set is beautiful, the casting is great, the
characters are nice, and the performances are believable. You will laugh at
this movie, as it is a funny adaptation. Check it out and see for yourself.
Stay tuned next week when I review another comedy in “Emma
Thompson Month.”
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