A
Shakespeare Trio the Sixth
by
Kristin Battestella
This
trio of Bard influenced dramas and documentaries is all about older
analysis, reflection, and even some mistakes.
All is True – Director Kenneth Branagh (Wallander) stars
as William Shakespeare alongside Judi Dench (Goldeneye), Ian
McKellan (Lord of the Rings), and Hadley Fraser (Coriolanus)
in this 2018 biopic recounting The Bard's final years. Opening title
cards detail the 1613 burning of the Globe Theatre and how
Shakespeare never wrote again, but Branagh is almost unrecognizable
as Shakespeare returns to the green countryside with autumn leaves
and sun kissed silhouettes. There is no action here as the
conversations and country pace are reflective rather than London
bustle. Twenty years he's been more about town than at home, so his
wife puts Bill in the best bed for the guests. Awkward dinner scenes,
tense will stipulations, and gardening struggles mirror the family
disconnect as Shakespeare's attempts to apply his imagination to
household references don't quite work. He and Anne are honest about
their children's troubles yet they themselves are distant. She
reminds him that he spent so much time putting words into people's
mouths that he forgot what's unsaid matters. Not to mention she's
pretty angry over his love poetry and wonders if he ever considered
her reputation amid his visions of their late son Hamnet. He can
converse with men of distinction despite lingering embarrassment over
his upbringing and paying for a fake coat of arms, but Shakespeare
provided wealth, fame, comfort, and fortune for his family – so why
are they so bitter? The Bard didn't realize the rest of his family
had stories to tell, but couldn't, and once the truth about Hamnet is
addressed, they can heal complete with a charming explanation about
that second best bed left to his wife in his will. Unfortunately, the
uneven time between his daughters and their creep husbands detracts
from the internal Shakespeare analysis. Even if some of their
scandals are factual, their drama is here for its Puritan harshness,
and the lookalike tut tutting townsfolk are also unnecessary. It's
tough for us to believe Shakespeare was disrespected and belittled by
small people when no external angst is needed. Such strife is just an
excuse for The Bard to whip 'em with his words while his illiterate
family learns to read and write to prove they love him. The Hamnet
supposition also drags on even after Bill has supposedly accepted his
daughters, making three years seem like three months because every
plot comes back to this deceased ideal. Contrived liberties may
irritate purists when the introspective legacy, attention to Tudor
detail, Jacobean furniture, and Puritan garments are better. Usually
we give Branagh his Shakespeare indulgences, but an outside eye not
so beloved of the Bard would have smoothed the unevenness here. The
cast is superb – Dench is thirty years older than her onscreen
husband when Hollywood would have cast a thirty year old – and the
longest scene is a twofer with McKellan's Earl of Southampton waxing
on their read between the lines love and the forever young words that
last long after the family line ends. Despite unnecessary intrusions,
this is a perfectly period swansong meant for mature Shakespeare
viewers.
Shakespeare's
Heroes and Villains – Steven Berkoff (Octopussy)
performs and analyzes iconic Bard figures in this fun 2019 one man
presentation. Rousing Henry V monologues and London cityscapes
capture the viewer's attention much more than a talking heads
documentary by letting us in on the show. Berkoff's angry at
diminishing changes in the text, intrusive technologies, and modern
liberties that miss the point of the words. Trust the language and
the speeches are enough to immerse the audience in the suspension of
belief. A deliciously intimate Iago soliloquy reveals his small
minded, mediocre jealously, and we can often recognize his pleasure
from displeasure in ourselves. Richard III, on the other hand, is a
clever villain. Berkoff compares his intelligent orchestration and
sadistic motivations to not just Hitler, but Trump as fear and power
make a poor substitute for real emotions. Today, we don't think we
need love thanks to the internet and pornography, but wealth and
corruption can't fill the vacuum created by an absence of compassion.
Such disturbing characters are fun to play, but it's also difficult
to wash away such darkness when you leave the boards. Rather than
purely scholarly analysis, it's interesting to see the
characterization through the craft. How do you add your own innovated
nuance when the audience already has Olivier's take in mind? Of
course, wannabe baddie Macbeth just can't get the job done thanks to
the lingering loyalty holding him back. Shakespeare is shockingly
succinct for his day in Lady's Macbeth's unsex me wish – the
removal of her nourishing femininity makes her the male impregnating
our subservient, festering thane with killer notions. Coriolanus
listens to his mother and it gets him got and Oberon is going to get
what he wants from Queen Tatiana even if he makes Puck do the dirty
work. Berkoff concludes with his own Shakespeare experience, first as
something difficult and irrelevant in his youth then later still
boring compared to big Hollywood opportunities. The poetic, stirring
imagery, however, brought him to the realizations and self expression
to be had amid the layered pentameter. Film has its tricks but pure
theatre has nothing but the actor and the playwright's words.
Although the time dedicated to our heroes and villains is unequal,
the mix of famous and lesser known balances out thanks to the food
for though interpretations and unique perspectives. Even if you
disagree with Berkoff's take, this is an entertaining gateway to some
of Shakespeare's juiciest characters; an inspiration for all ages to
research further and a great supplement for the at home classroom to
compare and discuss.
An
Unfortunate Skip
Romeo and Juliet – A cringe
on both your houses! George Cukor (Let's
Make Love) directs Norma
Shearer (The Barretts of
Wimpole Street) and Lesley
Howard (Gone with the Wind)
in this black and white 1936 two hour Shakespeare adaptation
immediately hampered by its company of oldsters pretending to be
adolescent lovers run afoul. The title card introductions also feel
like silent film holdovers, however the who's who family rivalries
add to the medieval mood alongside trumpets, tights, wimples,
feathers, banners, tunics, tassels, fur collars, cloaks, and gems.
Juliet's hair and gowns certainly take some interwar liberties, but
convenient family crests and shields remind us who is who during the
dares, sword fights, and rumbles in the cobblestone streets. Some of
the boasting is meant to be bemusing, but most of it is over the top
with fainting women, gasp there be Capulets, spitting, and it's the
Montagues, our foe! The sizing each other up clout is also moot
because we know it's not going to mean anything in the fatal end, and
the toy wooden swords stabbing under the arm are stage fighting
apparent. Although we do get to see Basil Rathbone (Comedy of Terrors) and his rapier
in action, it's a mistake to intercut his skill with up close soft
shots instead of using the fight to its fullest. Much of the side
story angst and set up, however, could be excised. Despite their
stage training, the stars are reciting juvenile, enchanted dialogue
rather than really acting alongside a typically hysterical nursemaid
and Andy Devine (Stagecoach)
as unnecessary comic relief. The tale here is condensed yet overly
romanticized with rowdy filler and poor John Barrymore (Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) looks
more like a horny old man instead of a rebellious teen.
The balcony scene is creepy and awkward as are the Morning Mood music
bliss and angelic choruses. Is this a coming out party for an old
maid and a virgin guy who just want to hold hands? Why are these
grown ups talking old speaketh silly and worried about what their
family thinks when they can go to the friar ASAP and get it on like
adults? Nobody has to die over this not so forbidden, changing the
entire dynamic of the tragedy thanks to out of touch pretentiousness
and try hard windblown reinforcing the pompous elitism for those who
think negatively of Shakespeare. If this was based on the play but an
adult version with updated language, a lot of what's wrong here could
be forgiven thanks to the fine production values. Fans of the cast
and Shakespeare completists may find some delight here, but even if
you like classics, it's easier to perceive this as a riff-able spoof
with no expectations.
