Much Ado About Nothing

This is one of my favorite plays.  Probably the very first version I saw was the Branagh film -- and that set the bar fairly high. (My one complaint at the time was that they overdid the joy scenes with cliché, and that Branagh gave himself the cooler of the two - splashing in a fountain while Thompson merely swings on a swing.  The fountain-splashing is inherently cooler because you can splash around in a fountain with total abandon... a swing is far more limited in its motion, essentially restricted to a single arc.)

So tonight I saw the Whedon version.  This was also really good; I walked away with my spirits lifted and my heart filled with joy.  Here's a slightly abridged version of what I told the sponsor:

It was really beautiful and very funny; I loved it.   

It is up there with the Branagh version, and may even be a little bit better in some ways; I think the limited palette of a black-and-white film heightens the overall sense of warmth. The soundtrack was excellent too.  

The Claudio/Hero subplot is always a tough sell for modern audiences, because Claudio (like Othello) is so quick to believe the worst of his beloved, and Claudio's repentance doesn't entirely seem to justify his reward at the end.  So it really depends on the actors to make it as convincing as possible.  Much must be done with body language, tone of voice, facial expressions....  If I were to suggest any changes for the way this is handled (not that anyone's planning to do that), it would be to have Claudio show more outward signs of his devastation as if his repentance and regret made him physically ill; it might even work for him to collapse at the feet of his "new" bride before he learns who she is.   

The idea that Beatrice and Benedick had a previous sexual encounter is an interesting one, and it sort of works between them in some ways (although to my mind it does not really explain the dynamic between the characters).  But it strikes a jarring note once everyone (including Beatrice) starts focusing on Hero's purity.    

I found myself wondering why the characters drank so much, and ultimately figured that it was to give the impression of upper-class folk staying at someone's vacation home for a long weekend or something.  

I smiled broadly throughout the film, and laughed out loud often.  I grew misty-eyed at certain points. Some great actors there, with really good comic timing and very expressive faces.  Beatrice, Hero and the priest were especially engaging. Nathan Fillion clearly was having a blast as Dogberry.  

All in all, I highly recommend it.  It's accessible, warm and funny.