Michael Radford's The Merchant of Venice starts with the burning of books written in Hebrew. There is probably no image that is more harrowingburning books in general always twist me up insidebut burning Hebrew books is evocative of the Shoah in a way that is certainly purposeful. Al Pacino plays Shylock as a man of tradition who has endured so many insults, so much horrid behavior, that when the opportunity comes for revenge, coupled with the theft of his daughter by one of the same Christian nobles who mock him, he cannot resist.
Radford, when adapting the play, made sure to show the more insulting lines toward Shylock coming from a mean-spirited and hypocritical place in the spirits of the Venetian nobles. In the end, when Shylock stands alienated from his old life, bereft of family and wealth, this production makes it clear that it is the cruelty of the Venetians and his own thirst for revenge that have left him thus, not something inherent to his Jewishness.
Jeremy Irons plays Antonio, as other reviewers have noted, as an "aging queen"; the line readings and gestures make it clear that he is in love with Bassanio. Bassanio may return the feelings, but to a lesser degree as he is off to seek his fortune and the hand of Portia. There is, in fact, a moment where Bassanio kisses Antonio on the lips, after Antonio has promised to use his credit to fund Bassanio's suit of Portia, and I was left feeling that Bassanio is cruelly using Antonio, knowing the older man cannot resist him.
Antonio is casually pitiless and spiteful to Shylock, but in a way that seems automatic. Antonio has no special animosity toward Shylock, but treats him as he would any other Jew with whom he came in frequent contact--in his world-view the Jews are inferior and deserve no better than this treatment of them. This is brought out semi-comically when Shylock is debating, out loud, whether to loan the money to Antonio, and Bassanio and Antonio roll their eyes at one another.
All of the characters except Shylock and his daughter Jessica wear literal masks at some point during the movie, and even when they do not, there is something mask-like about their demeanors. Portia seems more at home in a young man's clothes than as a maiden on her estate, and Bassanio more comfortable when his borrowed finery surrounds him than his destitute beginnings. The Christian characters in the play all have this hypocrisy of spiritwhen they are least themselves, they are most happy. Even Antonio is most eloquent and alive when he faces death in the courtroom, for earlier in the movie he is a pale shadow of himself: "I know not why I am so sad:/It wearies me; you say it wearies you."
Kris Marshall (who played Colin, the randy Brit who goes to Wisconsin in Love Actually) was very funny as Gratiano, and well matched in the girl who played the maid, although on her own she was difficult to take. I wasn't sure what to make of the actress who played Portia at first, but she has these interesting eyes that look always veiled and opaque, perfect to play a woman who is both more and less than what she seems.
The courtroom scene was staged very well, I thought. The press of spectators in a small room gives it a claustrophobic feel. The scene also brought out the point that Shylock has gone to court to collect his due because Venice had a set of laws upon which he could rely, a set of laws in front of which all men were equal. But he learns this is not true, when Portia says:
If it be proved against an alien That by direct or indirect attempts He seek the life of any citizen, The party 'gainst the which he doth contrive Shall seize one half his goods; the other half Comes to the privy coffer of the state; And the offender's life lies in the mercy.
No matter what, Shylock is an alien, no matter how long he has lived in Venice, never a citizen, and so the laws he trusts finally fail him.
I was expecting to hate the ring scene at the end, but Radford did two interesting things with it. One, he did not stage it light-heartedlyfrom the music and the expressions it is clear that much is at stake between Portia and Bassanio. Also, coming on the heels of the courtroom scene, where Portia strips first Antonio, then Shylock of power and dignity, it shows these characters' essential shallowness and triviality. Secondly, when Portia returns the ring to Bassanio, she does so through Antonio. Antonio gives it to Bassanio in such a way that it is a poignant parting, and an indication that he has given Bassanio leave to turn away from his bachelor relationships and toward his marriage.
Interestingly, Radford cut out the line at the end where we learn that Antonio's wealth has not foundered after all, that at least some of his ships will return to him. I did think it was a cheap way out for Antonio to suffer no lasting material effects from his bargain with Shylock. Leaving out his restored fortunes leaves Antonio punished at the end of the movie.
This was not a movie that swept me away, but I think it was, in many ways, the best movie that could be made from this play. It is a very difficult play, and of all of Shakespeare's plays, it may be the one that has changed the most in interpretation since it was first written.
Radford, when adapting the play, made sure to show the more insulting lines toward Shylock coming from a mean-spirited and hypocritical place in the spirits of the Venetian nobles. In the end, when Shylock stands alienated from his old life, bereft of family and wealth, this production makes it clear that it is the cruelty of the Venetians and his own thirst for revenge that have left him thus, not something inherent to his Jewishness.
Jeremy Irons plays Antonio, as other reviewers have noted, as an "aging queen"; the line readings and gestures make it clear that he is in love with Bassanio. Bassanio may return the feelings, but to a lesser degree as he is off to seek his fortune and the hand of Portia. There is, in fact, a moment where Bassanio kisses Antonio on the lips, after Antonio has promised to use his credit to fund Bassanio's suit of Portia, and I was left feeling that Bassanio is cruelly using Antonio, knowing the older man cannot resist him.
Antonio is casually pitiless and spiteful to Shylock, but in a way that seems automatic. Antonio has no special animosity toward Shylock, but treats him as he would any other Jew with whom he came in frequent contact--in his world-view the Jews are inferior and deserve no better than this treatment of them. This is brought out semi-comically when Shylock is debating, out loud, whether to loan the money to Antonio, and Bassanio and Antonio roll their eyes at one another.
All of the characters except Shylock and his daughter Jessica wear literal masks at some point during the movie, and even when they do not, there is something mask-like about their demeanors. Portia seems more at home in a young man's clothes than as a maiden on her estate, and Bassanio more comfortable when his borrowed finery surrounds him than his destitute beginnings. The Christian characters in the play all have this hypocrisy of spiritwhen they are least themselves, they are most happy. Even Antonio is most eloquent and alive when he faces death in the courtroom, for earlier in the movie he is a pale shadow of himself: "I know not why I am so sad:/It wearies me; you say it wearies you."
Kris Marshall (who played Colin, the randy Brit who goes to Wisconsin in Love Actually) was very funny as Gratiano, and well matched in the girl who played the maid, although on her own she was difficult to take. I wasn't sure what to make of the actress who played Portia at first, but she has these interesting eyes that look always veiled and opaque, perfect to play a woman who is both more and less than what she seems.
The courtroom scene was staged very well, I thought. The press of spectators in a small room gives it a claustrophobic feel. The scene also brought out the point that Shylock has gone to court to collect his due because Venice had a set of laws upon which he could rely, a set of laws in front of which all men were equal. But he learns this is not true, when Portia says:
If it be proved against an alien That by direct or indirect attempts He seek the life of any citizen, The party 'gainst the which he doth contrive Shall seize one half his goods; the other half Comes to the privy coffer of the state; And the offender's life lies in the mercy.
No matter what, Shylock is an alien, no matter how long he has lived in Venice, never a citizen, and so the laws he trusts finally fail him.
I was expecting to hate the ring scene at the end, but Radford did two interesting things with it. One, he did not stage it light-heartedlyfrom the music and the expressions it is clear that much is at stake between Portia and Bassanio. Also, coming on the heels of the courtroom scene, where Portia strips first Antonio, then Shylock of power and dignity, it shows these characters' essential shallowness and triviality. Secondly, when Portia returns the ring to Bassanio, she does so through Antonio. Antonio gives it to Bassanio in such a way that it is a poignant parting, and an indication that he has given Bassanio leave to turn away from his bachelor relationships and toward his marriage.
Interestingly, Radford cut out the line at the end where we learn that Antonio's wealth has not foundered after all, that at least some of his ships will return to him. I did think it was a cheap way out for Antonio to suffer no lasting material effects from his bargain with Shylock. Leaving out his restored fortunes leaves Antonio punished at the end of the movie.
This was not a movie that swept me away, but I think it was, in many ways, the best movie that could be made from this play. It is a very difficult play, and of all of Shakespeare's plays, it may be the one that has changed the most in interpretation since it was first written.