Much Ado About Nothing Movie Review

629 Words2 Pages

Much Ado About Nothing Movie Review

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves,

Robert Sean Leonard, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Briers, Brian Blessed,

Michael Keaton, Ben Elton

Running Time: 1hr 5mins

Introduction

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If you're studying the Shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing, be

sure to watch Kenneth Branagh's interpretation of this play. This film

will provide you with an enhanced understanding of the play. Although,

it is misleading at times, this version of the play will keep you

fully entertained for the full 111 minutes and provide you with extra

knowledge of the play.

Casting

The majority of the cast was well selected, and the actors lived up to

expectations.

Denzel Washington played Don Pedro well. He looked noble and therefore

suited the part of Don Pedro. Kenneth Branagh made a super decision in

casting an African American as Don Pedro. The illegitimacy is more

obvious when one of the princes is 'black' and the other is 'white.'

However, I feel that Keanu Reeves is not suitable to play the part of

Don John. In another version of Much Ado About Nothing, the actor cast

as Don John was much older and less handsome, which made him appear

more of a villain and I feel, for this reason, he succeeded in playing

the role of Don John. I think that Keanu Reeves is inappropriate to

play this role because the audience does not immediately recognise him

as a villain. Keanu Reeves normally plays the part of the hero; the

person that does the good deeds; the one who attracts the women, which

provides him with a false image at the beginning of the play. It's

imp...

... middle of paper ...

... to the subject of the play, deception. It also

builds on Beatrice's character. Beatrice reads the poem with emotion,

which implies that Beatrice, herself, has once been deceived.

Slow motion is used at the beginning of the play, when the soldiers

are riding up to the villa. This focuses on them and makes their

return seem really significant. The soldiers return as war heroes and

by filming their return in slow motion, it really demonstrates that to

the audience.

When Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato deceive Benedick about Beatrice's

intentions for him, it isn't as serious as it is supposed to be. In

the play, Shakespeare wrote the deception scene to be serious, but in

the film, Don Pedro, Claudio and Leonato treat it as a joke. They

shout to each other and smirk a lot, which removes the seriousness of

the scene.

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