Twelfth Night (1996)
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.5 Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
UK/US, 1996 U.S. Release Date: beginning 10/25/96 (limited) Running Length: 2:14 MPAA Classification: PG (Mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Helena Bonham Carter, Imogen Stubbs, Nigel Hawthorne, Richard E. Grant, Ben Kingsley, Mel Smith, Imelda Staunton, Toby Stephens, Steven Mackintosh, Nicholas Farrell Director: Trevor Nunn Producers: Stephen Evans, David Parfitt Screenplay: Trevor Nunn based on the play by William Shakespeare Cinematography: Clive Tickner Music: Shaun Davey U.S. Distributor: Fine Line Features
Move over, Jane Austen. Even with all the SENSE AND SENSIBILITYs, PRIDE AND PREJUDICEs, and EMMAs, the 19th century author is about to be passed by someone older and better-known: William Shakespeare. With the new influx of play-to-film adaptations, the market is absorbing no less than six Shakespeare films in thirteen months. It started with late 1995's OTHELLO and RICHARD III, and will now continue with LOOKING FOR RICHARD, TWELFTH NIGHT, ROMEO AND JULIET, and, in late December, Kenneth Branagh's much-anticipated HAMLET.
With TWELFTH NIGHT, director Trevor Nunn (LADY JANE) follows in Branagh's footsteps by adapting one of the comedies for the screen. However, while this picture doesn't have quite the same level of style or energy evident in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, solid performances and a lucid interpretation keep it afloat. And, because cuts have been made sparingly, this is one of the most faithful (at least as far as completeness is concerned) of the recent Shakespeare movies.
For some bizarre reason, Fine Line Features has decided to compare TWELFTH NIGHT to THE BIRDCAGE, THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, and TO WONG FOO, when about the only element all four have in common is cross- dressing. Anyone going into a British adaptation of Shakespeare expecting to see Nathan Lane cavorting around in drag is in for a rude surprise. That being said, however, at least TWELFTH NIGHT hasn't suffered from cinematic overexposure. None of the other filmed versions of this play are especially well-known.
TWELFTH NIGHT opens with a scene alluded to, but never presented in the original text. Twin siblings, Viola (Imogen Stubbs) and Sebastian (Steven Mackintosh), are aboard a ship that is wrecked off the coast of the imaginary country of Illyria. Although both characters escape the disaster, they are separated, and each believes the other to be dead. In order to survive more easily in a "man's world", Viola cuts her hair, glues on a fake mustache, and dresses in men's clothing. Going by the name of Cesario, she enters the service of a local Duke, Orsino (Toby Stephens). Orsino is madly in love with a young countess, Olivia (Helena Bonham Carter), who steadfastly refuses his advances. Orsino sends Viola to woo Olivia in his name. Olivia immediately falls for Viola/Cesario, while, at the same time, Viola realizes that she is in love with Orsino. And so the triangle is established.
A secondary story concerns the goings-on in Olivia's household, where the countess' frequently-drunk uncle, Sir Toby Belch (Mel Smith); her maid, Maria (Imelda Staunton); a foppish noble, Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Richard E. Grant); and an itinerant entertainer, Feste (Ben Kingsley), plot the downfall of Olivia's bad-tempered steward, Malvolio (Nigel Hawthorne).
TWELFTH NIGHT is chiefly about the similarities and differences between the sexes. By dressing Viola as a man, Shakespeare establishes an opportunity to explore through one character the different manners in which men and women approach the same situation, especially if it involves love. The play also addresses the deceptiveness of judging by appearance. After all, appearance, especially as it relates to identity, is an important aspect of TWELFTH NIGHT.
Veteran stage director Trevor Nunn, who spent more than two decades with the Royal Shakespeare Company, has attempted to modernize the play without changing its meaning. The era has been shifted from the 1600s to the 1800s, and, using the vibrant Cornish countryside, Nunn has opened up the previously-stagebound tale. Also, through glances and actions, the director brings the gay and lesbian subtext a little more out of the closet.
With TWELFTH NIGHT, as with any of the Bard's comedies, there's always a question of how well the humor will translate to a modern audience. Fortunately, in large part due to a wonderful comic turn by Nigel Hawthorne, the film offers plenty to laugh at. The finale, where all the mistaken identities are unraveled, is an example of how perfect timing can accentuate comedy.
The cast includes a number of accomplished performers, only three of whom -- Helena Bonham Carter (MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN), Nigel Hawthorne (THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE), and Ben Kingsley (GANDHI) -- are likely to be recognized by the majority of American movie-goers. Bonham Carter, who is well-suited to comedy, sparkles, as does Imogen Stubbs (SENSE AND SENSIBILITY). Mel Smith is delightfully boisterous as the drunk and disorderly Sir Toby. The real standout, however, is Hawthorne, whose version of Malvolio can alternately provoke laughter and tug at the heart strings.
Shakespeare aficionados will probably be pleased that so much of the written word has made it to the screen, but the two-plus hour running length is a bit burdensome. Branagh's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING can be criticized in many areas, but one of its great strengths is pacing -- a trait not shared by TWELFTH NIGHT, whose best comic moments all occur past the half-way point. Nevertheless, the slow spots are worth sitting through, because, as a whole, this is solid entertainment.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
"We go away from our parents in youth and then we gradually come back to them; and in that moment, we have grown up." -- Ingmar Bergman
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