MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
A film review by Jon A. Webb
Copyright 1993 Jon A. Webb
Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Shakespeare's play was filmed in the villa where the woman who posed for "Mona Lisa" lived, and the film is filled with the influence of the lush sensuality of the location. I was struck especially by the presence of water in the film, as water also figures prominently in the background to "Mona Lisa" (da Vinci was concerned at the time about the many mechanisms for moving water from place to place). I wonder if the painting influenced the movie, or the villa influenced them both, or if da Vinci's engineering work influenced the villa and then the movie.
Branagh does a great job of opening up the play. Often stage plays seem stiff and awkward as movies, which depend so much more on imagery and less on words. Branagh takes moments from the play and expands them into effective scenes. For example, the arrival of the Prince turns into a sequence of his men arriving on horses, the hurried washing of the men and women in the ubiquitous water, ending in their meeting as two opposing military forces might meet during a cease fire.
I wasn't as happy with the play itself. Kenneth Branagh and his wife Emma Thompson play the principals, and are a lot of fun to watch (exchanging witty barbs) until they fall in love, and they have little reason to continue being in the play. At that point, the story turns into a ridiculous farce. Part of the problem here is that the story is based on the actions of the two young lovers, the man played by Robert Sean Leonard and the woman whose name I don't recall. Since it's pretty obvious what is going to happen, and the characters don't have very much interesting to say, the movie drags a little.
Michael Keaton rescues the film at this point, though. He plays one of Shakespeare's comic relief roles, and does it so well I think that that Shakespeare himself would have been proud to see it. He was hilarious. He really showed how a great actor can turn a minor role into something memorable.
I thought Denzel Washington was appropriately regal as the Prince. He is always fun to watch. Keanu Reeves was okay as the villainous Prince's half-brother.
The ending of the film, with its widening circles of joyful dancing, makes the audience feel part of the action and inspires one to applause.
-- J
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