To start things off, this is a magnificent movie. I recently picked up a DVD of this Shakespeare adaptation because, let's face it, Shakespeare is great. On the whole, I have liked all of the Shakespeare adaptations that Kenneth Branagh made that I have seen, and when I found this one on sale, I bought it immediately even though I had not yet seen it. If Shakespeare is your bag, you need this in your collection. I am submitting this review because I think two items are worthy of comment.
Let's start with the bad news. Keanu Reeves is disappointing. Prince John is not a serious character. Reeves plays him like he's Iago. I've never managed to catch a live performance of this particular play, but I've always seen John as a caricature of an evildoer such as Snidely Whiplash or Dr. Evil. I think Shakespeare would agree insofar as Prince John's main presence in the play consists of him describing his evil schemes and then disappearing until it's time for him to be caught and punished. In my own humble opinion, he must be played as a comical villain if he is to have any entertainment value at all. When Shakespeare wanted a complex, distressing villain (such as Iago), he took the time to flesh the villainy out for us. Prince John is shallow and pointless except to cause the ado the play needs to progress. I think it would have been nice to see Reeves portray Prince John as a character from the Bill & Ted movies. Playing him seriously is a mistake.
Now for the good news. The other side of the coin is Michael Keaton playing the part of bumbling constable Dogberry. My impression of Dogberry has always been of a clueless official along the lines of Colonel Klink or the Keystone Cops. Keaton rearranged my thoughts. His portrayal has Dogberry as being at least a little insane. He no longer seems so much incompetent as existing in a slanted world that only he perceives. It is a rare occurrence indeed for me to find that my own imagination is short of the mark, but in this case, that is exactly what happened.
I do not know if the abovementioned items are the result of how the actors wanted to play their parts or Branagh directed the portrayals, so I will not attempt to affix blame or credit. In the final analysis, it doesn't really matter. The Prince John problem is insignificant because Shakespeare wisely chose not to give him too much stage time. The Dogberry magnificence more than makes up for it. Everything else is just fine. Even the musical accompaniment is beautifully done, if rather anachronistic.
Some may think that there are some casting problems such as Denzel Washington playing Don Pedro who, strictly speaking, shouldn't be black. Even linguistic accents don't entirely match up. So what? Some imagination must be brought to bear in any Shakespeare production. I am far more interested in the cumulative outcome. In short, this film easily overcomes its problems. Check it out.
Let's start with the bad news. Keanu Reeves is disappointing. Prince John is not a serious character. Reeves plays him like he's Iago. I've never managed to catch a live performance of this particular play, but I've always seen John as a caricature of an evildoer such as Snidely Whiplash or Dr. Evil. I think Shakespeare would agree insofar as Prince John's main presence in the play consists of him describing his evil schemes and then disappearing until it's time for him to be caught and punished. In my own humble opinion, he must be played as a comical villain if he is to have any entertainment value at all. When Shakespeare wanted a complex, distressing villain (such as Iago), he took the time to flesh the villainy out for us. Prince John is shallow and pointless except to cause the ado the play needs to progress. I think it would have been nice to see Reeves portray Prince John as a character from the Bill & Ted movies. Playing him seriously is a mistake.
Now for the good news. The other side of the coin is Michael Keaton playing the part of bumbling constable Dogberry. My impression of Dogberry has always been of a clueless official along the lines of Colonel Klink or the Keystone Cops. Keaton rearranged my thoughts. His portrayal has Dogberry as being at least a little insane. He no longer seems so much incompetent as existing in a slanted world that only he perceives. It is a rare occurrence indeed for me to find that my own imagination is short of the mark, but in this case, that is exactly what happened.
I do not know if the abovementioned items are the result of how the actors wanted to play their parts or Branagh directed the portrayals, so I will not attempt to affix blame or credit. In the final analysis, it doesn't really matter. The Prince John problem is insignificant because Shakespeare wisely chose not to give him too much stage time. The Dogberry magnificence more than makes up for it. Everything else is just fine. Even the musical accompaniment is beautifully done, if rather anachronistic.
Some may think that there are some casting problems such as Denzel Washington playing Don Pedro who, strictly speaking, shouldn't be black. Even linguistic accents don't entirely match up. So what? Some imagination must be brought to bear in any Shakespeare production. I am far more interested in the cumulative outcome. In short, this film easily overcomes its problems. Check it out.