Much Ado About
Nothing
(USA, 109 min.)
Adapted for the screen and directed by Joss Whedon
Starring: Amy Acker, Alex Denisof,
Clark Gregg, Reed Diamond, Fran Kranz, Jillian Morgese, Nathan Fillion, Sean Maher, Spencer Treat Clark, Ashley Johnson.
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Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker in Much Ado about Nothing. An eOne Films release. (Credit: Elsa-Guillet-Chapuis) |
“He hath indeed better bettered expectation than you must expect of me to tell you how.”
-William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing 1.1.13-14
Whedon, under contractual obligation to take time off after
shooting The Avengers, assembled his
best buds in his own home and had them re-create some Shakespeare in less than
twelve days of filming. Shooting Shakespeare on the fly with pals in the
comfort of one’s abode, Much Ado About
Nothing is the movie every film student wanted to make in university. It’s
a booze-fuelled party spoken in verse and shot as a film.
This Much Ado About
Nothing is Shakespeare on a shoestring. The adaptation that could have been
made by anyone, really, but few cases of Shakespeare on film are so fun and
unpretentious. The infectious
giddiness of the production puts Whedon in a fun teacher/student relationship
with his usual collaborators. It’s like FILM
301: Shakespeare on Film for the art-house crowd, as Whedon’s take provides
one of the most accessible renderings of Shakespeare yet, even though it is one
of the most dialogue-heavy and visually-restrained adaptations to hit the
screen. One learns the rhyme and reason of the play through the party-hearty
syntax of the production.
Much Ado About Nothing
is actually a fine choice for Whedon’s gay gathering, as the play itself is
largely confined to the single setting of the home of Leonato (Clark Gregg) as
he is visited by Don Pedro (Reed Diamond) and his entourage for a convivial
gathering, which leads to a marriage arrangement between Leonato’s daughter,
Hero (Jillian Morgese) and Don Pedro’s lord Claudio (Fran Kranz). As with any
large gathering of wine and friends, the party sees many whisperings in
corners, couplings in bedchambers, and ramblings fuelled by drink. The latter
act is especially controversial as the bride-to-be’s cousin, Beatrice (Amy
Acker) goes on a lengthy tirade about her disdain for Don Pedro’s top jester,
Benedick (Alex Denisof), unbeknownst that her ear is said man in a mask.
Beatrice and Benedick are a match made in heaven, so the partygoers say in all their
asides and Shakespearean gossip.
Acker and Denisof are especially strong as the comically
star-crossed lovers, who mask their feeling barbs and witticisms. They’re
easily the standouts among the fun ensemble, as is Nathan Fillion as the
bumbling doofus Dogberry, although some of the partygoers don’t seem as
comfortable with the verse as others do. Such a quick production might merely lead
lesser actors to remember their lines, but the ones with a firm grasp of the
language fit perfectly with the breeziness and whimsicality of Whedon’s
direction. It’s a most unexpected turn for him.
Whedon, sticking to the original text quite faithfully aside
from a shrewd opening frame on the perils and pleasures of the one-night stand,
shoots Much Ado About Nothing in a
straightforward manner. Much Ado lets
the words and performances convey the mood and humour of the text. Whedon also
employs his luxuriant and spacious house to invest the play with a quirky
energy, as windows, kitchen fixtures, and dollhouses accentuate the comedy of
manners with glee. The house provides the visual equivalent that many
scholars, reviewers, and die-hards often demand in seeing Shakespeare on film, as
the plays on interior/exterior afford endless sight gags while the confines of
the house’s walls and fences draw out Benedick’s hilarious plight on the
suffocating bind of marriage. There’s also an unusual interlude with some
Cirque du Soleil-ish acrobatics to accompany one of Whedon’s inspired
renderings of the songs from the original play. The black-and-white
cinematography, meanwhile, is slightly gratuitous, but it adds a sense of timelessness
to this contemporary-set spin on Much Ado.
Whedon and the cast also find a feverishness in Much Ado that shows how the Bard’s plays
might benefit from retrospective re-reading. Every other line plays as a double
entendre regardless of whether Shakes wanted them to, so this Much Ado is sprightly and intoxicatingly
saucy. It still has the undercurrent of tragedy of the play’s final turn, which
is balanced rather well as the spirited cast brings the party to its merry
conclusion. This jazzy Much Ado About
Nothing is as fun to watch as it probably was to make.
Rating: ★★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Rating: ★★★★ (out of ★★★★★)
Much Ado About Nothing is currently playing in Ottawa at The ByTowne
and in Toronto at the Carlton.
Update: It opens at The Mayfair August 16.
and in Toronto at the Carlton.
Update: It opens at The Mayfair August 16.