Prior to reviewing the latest version of the Bard to screen I must make a few concessions.
1) Much Ado About Nothing ranks among my favorite Shakespearean plays and is the one comedy I truly enjoy. I love it’s sarcasm, undertones of cynicism and rapid dialogue. It is timeless because of its themes, particularly as they are embodied by Beatrice.
2) I unabashedly love and adore the 1993 Kenneth Branagh film. In fact I saw it over 15 times in the theater the summer it was released. It is big, bawdy and bright. As a result Emma Thompson's Beatrice has been the voice in my head for the last 20 years. When I read it and think of Beatrice’s passages Thompson's cadence and lithe is what I hear.
3) I have eagerly anticipated Whedon's version for over a year, ever since it became public knowledge that they filmed it at his house over a 12 day period. I was also more than a little skeptical about the film’s casting.
That said with the giddiness of a child on the cusp of summer break I held my breath as the lights went down in the movie theater this weekend. Immediately, I entered Whedon's universe and quickly became enchanted by this modern take that leans into the dark undertones of the play.
Let's begin with atmosphere. Yes this Much Ado is set in Whedon's house and famously shot over a 12 day break between shooting and editing The Avengers. This much talked about point undermines the wonderfully precise backdrop Whedon's Messina provides to the emotional upheavals of our quartet of lovers. Shooting the film in black and white ironically provides a lush softening of the environment rather than a creating a stark contrast. The use of windows, doorways and staircases enhances the sense of ease dropping and lurking that drives much of the play’s manipulations and misunderstandings. After two viewings this weekend, there is not a frame of this film that I didn’t enjoy. From the opening shot to what I can only describe as a perfect closing sequence the tone of this movie works because it is so straight forward in its delivery. Branagh’s Much Ado is very optimistic, almost in spite of the text. While the sarcasm is dialed up in the 1993 version, the cynical aspects are almost entirely absent. Here Whedon presents a very adult telling of this story. His use of flashback to establish Beatrice and Benedick’s relationship is well crafted and believable. It absolutely enriches their more serious moments together, especially when Beatrice compels him to act on behalf of Hero’s virtue. The somber notes play against the lighter sequences with seamless transition. Whedon’s use of the kitchen and exteriors of his house serve as an extension of the storytelling. However it is his unconventional choices, like Benedick and Claudio staying in a little girl’s bedroom, which offer a hilarious setting that illuminates the absurdity and disdain in some of Benedick’s dialogue about love giving the film a layer whimsical agility that I really appreciated.
Not surprisingly the casting reflects a hodgepodge of Whedon’s television history. I did not watch Buffy or Angel with any consistency so I was most unfamiliar with Alexis Denisoff. As Benedick, I felt like his performance was a mixed bag. He had moments of wonderful physical comedy and deadpan delivery. When he is sitting outside after Beatrice departs assessing what she said he provides what I believe is a perfect line reading of “There’s a double meaning in that”. Unfortunately he didn’t captivate me in most of his exchanges with Beatrice. I felt as though in playing to the darker tones of the play the witty dialogue fell flat. On the contrary, Amy Acker’s Beatrice was interesting to me. It was a much more jaded take on the character that I think worked extremely well in Beatrice’s more serious moments, particularly in her “Oh that I were a man” sequence. Acker’s strongest scene is when Beatrice overhears Hero and Ursula tell of Benedick’s love for her. For the entire scene we are with Acker and with deft body language she takes us from extreme hilarity to a wonderful sincerity that is probably the most poignant moment in the film. When I first read Clark Gregg had been cast, I actually thought he would play Benedick. His Leonato is delightfully dead pan and Gregg plays into the tone of the film probably the best of all the players. Sean Maher creates a deviance in Don John that embodies the cruelty that exists in the play and does so with creepy accuracy that he commands the scene whenever he’s in the frame.
Nathan Fillion may not like Shakespeare, but for me he managed to finally create a Dogberry that I didn’t dread seeing on screen. More often than not Dogberry is played as a loud, obnoxious buffoon. Fillion’s reading of the character is much funnier because it plays into the obtuse vanity of Dogberry and allows the dialogue to show the audience that the man is an idiot. His physical play with Tom Lenk’s Verges offered great Abbott and Costello moments while allowing the discovery of Don John’s deeds to not feel like an exercise of necessary plot device.
Finally, for me the revelation of casting comes from a surprising place. Reed Diamond’s wonderfully relaxed and commanding performance as Don Pedro was enchanting. I was taken with him from his opening line to his melancholy state at the end of the play. When he stands in the kitchen devising his plan to play cupid for Beatrice and Benedick I found myself smiling from ear to ear. His delivery was both accessible and simply a joy to watch. Truth be told, there were moments in my second outing to the movie that I thought he would have made a wonderful Benedick.
This Much Ado has much to offer. The film noir setting embodies this play in a way that makes the dialogue feel extremely modern without ever sacrificing the nuance and layers of meaning in what Shakespeare put on the page. I included the trailer they did for UK release of the film because it captures the emotions and tone of the movie more accurately than the US trailer, which while fun doesn’t give you what really makes this play and by extension Whedon’s interpretation so interesting. This is not your high school reading of Shakespeare. It’s an adult take, with adult beverages and dark sinister tones that drip in sarcasm and in key moment’s great humor. It’s a film I was certainly predetermined to love, but what makes it a film people should see is the fact that it surprised me at nearly every turn. Not bad for a play that’s over 500 years old.
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