Tweekums
Twins Viola and Sebastian look very similar so much so that they enjoy trying to trick people as to which is which aboard the ship in which they are sailing. After the ship is wrecked it appears that Sebastian has died but Viola is amongst the survivors. She decides that it would be safest if she were to disguise herself as a boy, take the name Cesario and gets a job serving as a page to Duke Orsino. She soon starts to develop feelings for her but can't give voice to them. Things get a little more awkward for her when Orsino requires her go to the nearby Countess Olivia to tell her of his love. She isn't interested in him but is rather taken by 'Cesario'! If that weren't enough others are trying to persuade Olivia's steward, the rather bumptious Malvolio, that she has feelings for him. When it emerges that Sebastian is in fact still alive things get even more confused as he looks and is dressed just like 'Cesario'!This is the first version of this Shakespeare comedy that I've seen so can't say how it compares to other adaptions. The story is delightfully over the top with confusions. I liked the late Victorian/Edwardian setting and fine Cornish locations. The way the story is adapted, with short scenes and numerous locations, makes it feel more cinematic than theatrical.The cast is impressive; while no viewer is likely to confuse Imogen Stubbs and Steven Mackintosh as 'Cesario' and Sebastian they do look similar enough and the former, with the help of shortened hair and a false moustache, does have a slightly boyish look. The rest of the cast were impressive too; notably Helena Bonham Carter as Olivia; Nigel Hawthorne as Malvolio; Ben Kingsley as Feste, the fool; Mel Smith as drunken Sir Toby Belch and Richard E. Grant as Sir Andrew Aguecheek. The comedy is a little silly but that is the joy of it; one might have though the things that people found funny four hundred years ago would raise a laugh these days but I found myself laughing out loud several times. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to anybody wanting a good romantic comedy even if you con't consider yourself a fan of Shakespeare.
James Hitchcock
At one time adaptors of Shakespeare for the cinema trended to concentrate more on his tragedies and history plays rather than his comedies. The 1990s, however, saw two very fine adaptations of Shakespearean comedies, Kenneth Branagh's "Much Ado about Nothing" and Trevor Nunn's "Twelfth Night"."Twelfth Night" is another name for the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6th, and the action of the play is supposed to take place around that date. Nunn, however, did not shoot this film in winter but in autumn; filming actually took place in November, but the crew were mostly lucky with the weather and the look of the countryside might suggest late September or early October. Although the setting is still officially "Illyria", an old name for Croatia, Nunn effectively updates the action to Victorian England. The film was shot on location in Cornwall, with St Michael's Mount standing in for Orsino's palace and Lanhydrock for Olivia's mansion. Unlike his contemporary Marlowe in "Edward II", Shakespeare never dealt directly with the subject of homosexuality, but "Twelfth Night" is perhaps the play in which he came closest to dealing with it by implication. The plot revolves around a curious love-triangle, A loves B, who loves C, who loves A. Orsino, Duke of Illyria, is in love with the beautiful countess Olivia. She, however, has no interest in Orsino, but has fallen for "Cesario", the handsome young man whom Orsino uses as his go-between. Unknown to both Orsino and Olivia, however, the supposed "Cesario" is really a disguised woman, Viola- who has fallen in love with her employer. An extra complication- and a possible solution to the problem- arises when Viola's identical twin brother Sebastian, whom she previously believed to be dead, arrives on the scene. (Yes, I know that in reality you cannot have identical opposite-sex twins, but Shakespearean comedies are not noted for their strict realism). The lesbian overtones to the Olivia/Viola relationship would probably have been rather muted in Shakespeare's day when all female roles would have been played by boys, but here Helena Bonham-Carter and Imogen Stubbs (the director's wife) make the most of them. Even with the assistance of a quasi-military uniform and a false moustache, the lovely Imogen never looks particularly masculine, so there is an implication that Olivia has fallen for someone she consciously believes to be male but subconsciously knows to be female. The gay overtones to the relationship between Toby Stephens' Orsino and "Cesario", and to that between Sebastian and Antonio, the sea-captain who has befriended him, are perhaps even stronger. Certainly, Orsino's conversations with "Cesario" seem remarkably intimate if he really does believe his young companion to be male.Along with the likes of "Much Ado…" and "As You Like It", "Twelfth Night" is sometimes described as a "joyous" comedy in contradistinction to more "problematic" comedies like "Measure for Measure" and "All's Well that Ends Well". It does, however, have its darker side; several characters, for example, have recently suffered bereavement, or believe themselves to have done so, and this production tends to stress the darkness underlying the play. The autumnal setting contributes to this feeling, as does the fact that most of the characters are seen dressed in black.The dark overtones are particularly pronounced in the sub-plot involving Olivia's steward, Malvolio. He is sometimes played simply as a narrow- minded Puritan and his adversary Sir Toby as a jovial, lovable old man whose only concern is to have his "cakes and ale". For Nunn, however, matters are not so simple. Nigel Hawthorne's Malvolio- the one character for whom there is no happy ending- is an essentially tragic figure, a dignified and dedicated servant who is tricked into making a fool of himself by a gang of people who have taken an irrational dislike to him. His name is derived from the Italian for "ill will", yet its significance here may be that Malvolio is not so much the perpetrator of malice as the victim of the malice of others. There is an excellent performance from Mel Smith, better known as a television comedian, as Sir Toby. Smith brings out both the nastiness and the sadness which lie at the heart of his character. Sir Toby is a man of wealth and noble family (he is Olivia's uncle) who has spent his whole life in feasting, drinking and womanising and who has a fondness for cruel practical jokes; besides his tricking of Malvolio he dupes his friend Andrew Aguecheek and "Cesario" into fighting a duel. (Both acquit themselves surprisingly well, given that one is really a woman and the other an arrant coward). Yet there is also an implied sadness about Smith's characterisation; Toby knows that his life has been a wasted one, but feels that it is too late to amend.Besides Hawthorne and Smith there are too many good contributions to single them all out individually. I must, however, mention Stubbs, who is able to suggest both a male persona and the underlying woman, and Ben Kingsley as Olivia's jester Feste, whom he plays less as a clown than as a sardonic old philosopher, an eccentric but also a man gifted with penetrating insights into human life. "Twelfth Night" is one of Shakespeare's best-known comedies, and like all well-known Shakespeare plays it has become very familiar in the theatre. A good director, however, whether in the theatre or on screen, will always be able to find something new to say about it, and that is what Nunn has done here. He and his cast have found new insights into this great play, enabling us to see it with new eyes. An excellent production. 9/10
KFL
There are several good reasons to spend an evening with this production of a standard Shakespearean tale of gender confusion and romantic comedy. The lush scenery and attention to period detail, top-notch performances, and Ben Kingsley's rightly acclaimed turn as Feste, the wise and knowing Fool.Nonetheless, the move from play to the big screen has its drawbacks, foremost among which are the great suspension of disbelief the viewer must attempt when Viola is taken seriously as a man, and still moreso when brother and sister, essentially unchanged in appearance, do not immediately recognize each other. Suspension of disbelief is more commonly expected in a stage production, where the circumstances of the confined surroundings necessitate empathetic participation of the audience. In cinema, however, such constraints are generally not present, and standards are correspondingly higher. But if the screenplay includes elements that demand audience empathy, as is the case here, the production will fare badly at just those places.Hamlet and other more "serious" works in the Shakespearean canon have few such elements. Plays such as TN, of a more playful nature and which revolve around improbable plot elements, will bear up less well under the close scrutiny of big-screen cinema.
silverduckday
This film is absolutely awesome, I recommend everyone see it! The plot is fascinating and fast paced, it really keeps you guessing what's going to happen next. It's about two very similar twins, Viola and Sebsatian, who are caught in a ship wreck and each believe the other dead. Viola, for protection, dresses up as a boy and goes to work for a powerful Duke (a very dashing Toby Stephens). When the Duke sends his new "male" servant to woo his love, Lady Olivia (the glamorous Helena Bonham Carter), all sorts of chaos reigns, especially when Viola's now identically looking twin brother arrives!!The actors give it their all and make the complicated Shakespearian language much easier to follow. The scenery is the breathtakingly beautiful Cornish coast and the overall feel of the play is one that has been made with great care, yet never tires or becomes bogged down with the complicated language. I had no idea of the story before watching, but found this no obstacle, unlike many other Shakespeare film adaptions. I've never been much of a Shakespeare fan and have only read it when made to in school! After watching this film, however, I have been reading the play itself and have really enjoyed studying the original Shakespeare! There are so many different ideas and themes in the original play, all of which are brought effortlessly to life in the screen! The film also treads well the fine line the play expresses between tragedy and comedy.A brilliant treat of a film that is genuinely funny, heart warming and addicting! One of my all time favourite films I can't seem to stop watching!!!
