You know...something that isn't absolutely ridiculous and perhaps offensive (re: definitely offensive to someone). And has something to do with writing/reading/movies...which is ostensibly what this blog is supposed to be about.
I'm a Joss Whedon fan. Have been for as long as I can remember, actually, all the way back to Buffy. My favorite program of his is, of course, Firefly, and I actively worship the ground on which Nathan Fillion walks. So when I heard that he was filming a version of Much Ado About Nothing (aka my second favorite Shakespearean comedy), I knew I had to go see it.
There was only one problem: according to just about every reputable site on movies and movie going, the movie wouldn't be showing ANYWHERE SE of Mount Doom.
You know that scene in Revenge of the Sith where the newly-minted Darth Vader realizes what he has become? I pulled one of those.
I mean, I was ridiculously disappointed that there was a chance I'd have to drive to the damn Shire just to see this damn movie. And it wasn't just because I love Joss Whedon or pretty much every actor appearing in this flick (especially Clark Gregg and Nathan Fillion). I really, really love Much Ado About Nothing. Beatrice and Benedick represent one of my favorite couples in the world, and Dogberry actually makes me laugh out loud. Not to mention that Mumford and Sons thought it was good enough to use it in a song! ("Sigh No More" is the song to which I refer, for you non-music lovers out there.)
And even if it weren't Much Ado. Even if it were Joss Whedon's Taming of the Shrew (not my favorite play, for a number of reasons, though I do love a certain Heath Ledger-starring adaptation involving ten things and hating you), I would have wanted to see this movie. Why, do you ask?
Well, have you SEEN the previews for it? It's beautiful! The camera work is exquisite, the choice to film it in a modern setting but with a certain timeless styling, and of course the (apparently controversial) black and white...well, I knew I had to see it. It's just so damn stylish! Glossy and beautiful and sexy. Did I mention sexy? (I also mentioned I am not a film aficionado, right? I can only tell you what I like.)
You see, I love Shakespeare. But he is not the most easily accessible writer on the planet. There's a reason people seem to think of his works as dry and boring, and a lot of it is because of the style of his writing. In the same way that poets twist the language to their needs, he manipulated English in the most beautiful ways. Macbeth, for example, contains the oldest known printed use of the word assassin. Shakespeare, as far as we know, made that word up! But I digress. Shakespeare= hard, right? Ain't no one can understand that shit. (Or at least that's what people seem to think.)
BUT THIS IS NOT SO! Shakespeare is fancy, of course, and perhaps a bit antiquated (though still, as far as linguists are concerned, Modern in its use), but he is not hard to understand. We just need a visual. We need context, and a deep emotional investment in the characters. And the tendency of stage performers of Shakespeare to deliver these lines as if God has handed them down from on high (and the belief some people have that only someone trained in Shakespeare can do it right)...well, it doesn't really help.
Shakespeare is no different than any other writer. If you say the lines with the right emotional intent, and with the correct physical reflection, people will understand it. "Trained Shakespearean Ack-tors" tend to play up the more abstract nature of stage performances. So much of a stage piece is concept, and the audience being able to interpret the intrinsic meaning of the story.
Film is different. Film takes the onus off of the viewer to interpret and understand the setting and the character's lives. It immerses the viewer on a much deeper level. The camera points us in the right direction, and it allows people to follow the narrative in a much more precise manner than the interpretive nature of the stage. So Shakespeare on film, and especially Shakespeare in a modern setting on film, is probably the best and most relatable way to enjoy the Bard's language.
All that being said, there is a happy ending to this story. Turns out, the local independent theater was showing it (thank you, Gateway, for showing us good films since 1951), and all was saved! I even postponed seeing Monsters University for a whole week to drive across town and view this movie! And let me tell you what...
JOSS WHEDON, I LOVE YOU! PLEASE HAVE MORE SHAKESPEARE PARTIES AT YOUR HOUSE!
Everything that I said above was exactly what I loved about this film. It was beautiful. The music (which, apparently, Joss wrote himself) was perfectly used. It was sexy...or, at least, the people in it were sexy. OK, the movie was sexy, too. And no one had any problem with the language. Not a single person walked out of that theater wondering what anyone had meant. In fact, one eighty-year-old woman commented that "that young man playing Dogberry was quite good", so...there you go, Nathan Fillion! Ladies of all ages love you!
Some people complain that the actors didn't really understand Shakespeare, and that most of them clearly struggled with it. I...disagree. I thought everyone did beautifully. An actor's job is to perform a part, and to make us believe them, sympathize with them, and see them as being a part of their story and their world. It must be organic. And, with Shakespeare, they must do all of this while making sure the viewer understands them just as if they were speaking in a more modern dialect. Did the actors in this movie succeed in this? Absolutely. Did I laugh? Yes. Did I feel Claudio's pain when he thought Hero had been unfaithful to him? Absolutely. Did I think Dogberry was an ass? Oh, yeah.
And was the farce involved in getting Beatrice and Benedick together the absolute funniest thing in the whole movie? Of course. Alexis Denisof hiding behind a branch while Claudio, Don Pedro, and Leonato are cracking up was...perfect. And then working out to impress Beatrice...I had tears in my eyes.
Basically, I saw it. I loved it. I think everyone else on the planet should see it, too. And we should all write Joss Whedon very long letters demanding to be invited to these Shakespeare parties!
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