An updated telling of one of Shakespeare's lesser known plays has some wonderful moments, but overall falls a bit short of the mark.
I have never been convinced that Shakespeare should ever be updated. Written at a particular time within a specific historical context, to update Shakespeare is to force his work to fit into what is, for all intents and purposes, an alien world. This particular attempt is at times extremely confusing. The movie is set in September of 1939, yet much of the language used remains Shakespearian. There is a general war about to break out in Europe, but it is a fictionalized conflict and not the Second World War of history. The France of 1939 in this movie has a king; the real France of 1939 was a republic. Question: why update the play and then completely re-invent history to accommodate the update? I have to say also that the background music was also a problem to me. I found it rather loud and distracting, sometimes drowning out the dialogue (particularly problematic when the dialogue is offered in an unfamiliar dialect.)
I can't come up with an answer for the second problem, but there is one excellent reason for the update: the song and dance numbers! This may be Shakespeare updated, but it is also very much a retro-type movie, hearkening viewers back to the charming musicals of a bygone era. The dance scenes (and especially a solo performance by Adrian Lester as Dumaine, expressing his love for the lady of his dreams) are wonderful and worth watching in themselves. The movie also features very funny performances from Nathan Lane as Costard - essentially the king's fool - and, in a more limited role, from Timothy Spall as Don Armado, the Spanish count. Both demonstrate that they have great talent in the area of slapstick comedy.
Overall, there are many charming features to this movie, and it is definitely worth a look. I would give this one a 6/10.
I have never been convinced that Shakespeare should ever be updated. Written at a particular time within a specific historical context, to update Shakespeare is to force his work to fit into what is, for all intents and purposes, an alien world. This particular attempt is at times extremely confusing. The movie is set in September of 1939, yet much of the language used remains Shakespearian. There is a general war about to break out in Europe, but it is a fictionalized conflict and not the Second World War of history. The France of 1939 in this movie has a king; the real France of 1939 was a republic. Question: why update the play and then completely re-invent history to accommodate the update? I have to say also that the background music was also a problem to me. I found it rather loud and distracting, sometimes drowning out the dialogue (particularly problematic when the dialogue is offered in an unfamiliar dialect.)
I can't come up with an answer for the second problem, but there is one excellent reason for the update: the song and dance numbers! This may be Shakespeare updated, but it is also very much a retro-type movie, hearkening viewers back to the charming musicals of a bygone era. The dance scenes (and especially a solo performance by Adrian Lester as Dumaine, expressing his love for the lady of his dreams) are wonderful and worth watching in themselves. The movie also features very funny performances from Nathan Lane as Costard - essentially the king's fool - and, in a more limited role, from Timothy Spall as Don Armado, the Spanish count. Both demonstrate that they have great talent in the area of slapstick comedy.
Overall, there are many charming features to this movie, and it is definitely worth a look. I would give this one a 6/10.