"As You Like It"
Aug. 23rd, 2007 06:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feste_sylvainKenneth Brannaugh's latest take on Shakespeare's As You Like It was, um, interesting (he set it in 19th century Japan). I'm just giving impressions here, so let me use the plus/minus format:
+ Brian Blessed played both opposing Dukes. And his voice can convey anything.
+ Bryce Dallas Howard, the actress who played Rosalind, was totally infectious in her enthusiasm.
- If you're going to set it in Japan, why set it in the "English mercantile sphere of influence", and have almost no Japanese characters?
- "As You Like It" is mostly set in the woods, which needn't be in Japan. This could have been set in any country with trees. Now, if he'd done "Twelfth Night", with its shipwreck and Duke's court and Olivia's court...
+ Brannaugh himself got the "Seven Ages of Man" speech, and did it proud.
+ David Oyelowo, the actor who played Orlando, came off better than the two fools, which is not easy. Especially when one is played by Kevin Kline.
- When trimming down something play-length to movie-length, why gussy up the action bits in the beginning and then ignore them for the rest of the script?
- When one of the lines that you keep is "darken my face with umber", why then do you not disguise Rosalind better? I could not believe that anyone would mistake "the youth" for a male, let alone the man who was utterly smitten with her.
+ Beautiful cinematography.
+ Brian Blessed played both opposing Dukes. And his voice can convey anything.
+ Bryce Dallas Howard, the actress who played Rosalind, was totally infectious in her enthusiasm.
- If you're going to set it in Japan, why set it in the "English mercantile sphere of influence", and have almost no Japanese characters?
- "As You Like It" is mostly set in the woods, which needn't be in Japan. This could have been set in any country with trees. Now, if he'd done "Twelfth Night", with its shipwreck and Duke's court and Olivia's court...
+ Brannaugh himself got the "Seven Ages of Man" speech, and did it proud.
+ David Oyelowo, the actor who played Orlando, came off better than the two fools, which is not easy. Especially when one is played by Kevin Kline.
- When trimming down something play-length to movie-length, why gussy up the action bits in the beginning and then ignore them for the rest of the script?
- When one of the lines that you keep is "darken my face with umber", why then do you not disguise Rosalind better? I could not believe that anyone would mistake "the youth" for a male, let alone the man who was utterly smitten with her.
+ Beautiful cinematography.
