Sunday 23 June 2013

Much Ado About Nothing

 
Joss Whedon adapts William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.
The film advertises itself.
PLOT:  Love is in the air in the home of Leonato (Clark Gregg) when his daughter Hero (Jillian Morgese) falls for Claudio (Fran Kranz).  As their wedding day approaches jealous Don John (Sean Maher) conspires to split up the happy couple.  Meanwhile Beatrice (Amy Acker) bickers with Benedict (Alexis Denisof) unaware that Leonato, Claudio and Don Pedro (Reed Diamond) are manipulating them in the hope that they will fall in love.  END PLOT
Adapting Shakespeare’s original text in a modern day setting is always a risking move.  Joss Whedon did it on an eleven day shoot in his own home (wiki) and made it look easy.
The dialogue and pacing runs at break neck speed. It took me a few minutes to get into the flow of the film, but once I did, I was engrossed. 
Despite being written over 500years ago the wit and comedy feels fresh and there were a few emotional moments thrown in for good measure.  The comedy ranges from witty zingers to broad slapstick with very few jokes, if any, missing their marks.
The cast is a who’s who of Joss Whedon’s back catalogue however they have been cast on their own merits.  Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof and Clark Gregg are all excellent and Sean Maher pops up as a moody Don John
As expected Nathan Fillion steals the show and earns the biggest laughs however Alexis Denisof is close behind on the giggle stakes with will some brilliantly timed slapstick.
Much Ado About Nothing is shot in black and white and despite the simple cinematography it looks stunning.  The camera felt a bit too shaky at times but this is only a minor quibble for the sake of having something to complain about.
Much Ado About Nothing is simple filmmaking at its finest.  It gets a 9/10.    

10 comments:

  1. I cannot wait to see this. I am a huge Whedonite and have been dying to see thi as soon as I heard it was coming out.

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    1. It lives up to all the hype.

      I sat with a big grin on my face the entire time. I haven't laughed as hard in the cinema in a loooong time

      Well worth your time

      K :-)

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  2. Anything Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion related is something that I definitely want to see. Glad to see that you liked it. I am still slightly confused, is it actually a witty comedy? Or more of a comedy drama. Either way, Whedon dialogue is always the best.

    -James

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    1. I would class it as a comedy drama but would emphasise that the comedy is laugh aloud funny!

      Whedon probably can't take credit for the dialogue but the delivery of the cast is top notch!

      K :-)

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  3. I've never been a big Joss Whedon super fan, only show of his I watched all the way through was Dollhouse and I gave up on Buffy during the 3rd season when it aired.

    I'm strange I know, don't even get me started on my general confusion and disinterest in Firefly.

    That being said I love a good adapatation of Shakespeare, this sounds like it's very good. I've never been a big fan of his comedies but this looks very enjoyable.

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    1. I m a huge Whedon fan - I am still grieving the loss of Firefly :-(

      If this comes your way it's worth a look. Very very funny in parts!

      K :-)

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    2. Someday I'll figure out the appeal of Firefly but it's just lost on me for some reason. I love Shakespeare so I'll be giving it a look on video.

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    3. I don't think there was any middle ground with Firefly!

      I wouldn't be unhappy if Joss Whedon took a run at Shakespeare

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  4. I really want to see Much Ado! I am huge fan of indies, so I will definitely see this on rent. However, I have very high expectations because it's directed by Joss Whedon.

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    1. It most certainly lived up to high expectations. If this turns out to be the comedy of the year I wouldn't be surprised......although I don't tend to watch a lot of them

      K :-)

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