Love's Labour's Lost Review
by Laura Clifford (lcliffor AT genuity DOT net)June 23rd, 2000
LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST
--------------------
Kenneth Branagh brings his fourth Shakespearean adaptation to the screen with a twist - the frothy play, "Love's Labour's Lost" is set just as World War II is dawning and set to the music of the Gershwin brothers and Irving Berling, as much an homage to old movies as to Shakespeare.
The King (Alessandro Nivola, "Face/Off") decides to devote himself to years of study, banning wine, women and song from his palace grounds. His three best friends, Berowne (Branagh), Longaville (Matthew Lillard, "Scream") and Dumaine (Adrian Lester, "Primary Colors") aren't thrilled, but respect their king in a pact that will soon be broken when the French princess (Alicia Silverstone, "Clueless") and her ladies Rosaline (Natascha McElhone, "Ronin"), Maria (Carmen Ejogo, "The Avengers") and Katherine (Emily Mortimer, "Scream 3") pays a political visit for her father.
LAURA:
Branagh's proven very adept at translating the bard to the screen as period pieces, so it's invigorating to see him try something different and unequivocally nail it.
His screenplay adaptation deftly jumps the action of Shakespeare's light tale forward with song and dance numbers set to standards such as
"I Get No Kick from Champagne," "The Way You Look Tonight," "I'm in Heaven," and "You Can't Take That Away From Me" The story is simple: when the ladies appear, the King allows them to set up camp outside the palace gates where one by one they pair off with the kings' men until the King himself succombs to the princess. The men try to keep their affairs secret from one another (Branagh stages a truly brilliant scene in the King's library for them all to discover each others' dishonesty) while letters get into the wrong hands and the ladies switch identities to give the men their comeuppance. Word is sent that the King of France has died and the princess is distraught, declares the love matches mere flirtations and announces she and her ladies will depart. The king proposes a one year enforced separation to test their loves after which they all live happily ever after.
Casting is brilliantly insane (two veterans from the "Scream" franchise?!). Branagh and McElhone are actually the preeminent couple and he allows her to shine as perhaps the most mature and womanly of the four ladies. Silverstone is engagingly kewpie-dollish, delivering her lines with a petulant, baby doll pout, but becoming serious when circumstance demands. Her man, Nivola, is handsome and dashing and funny, acting as if he'd stepped right out of a 30's screwball comedy. Lester is fantastic with the dance moves, suggesting no less than Donald O'Connor's work in "Singin' in the Rain. Lillard is surprisingly agile,putting a touch of slapstick in his long limbs even as he retains control of his moves. Their loves, Mortimer and Ejogo respectively, keep pace, but don't get as much opportunity to develop their characters (it's also neat that Branagh chose to racially crisscross these two couples).
Other lovers are afoot as well, from the hilariously over the top Timothy Spall (Leighs' recent films) as Don Armado who pines for the country wench Jaquenetta (Stefania Rocca, "The Talented Mr. Ripley"). He trips about on tiny feet before launching into one of the most fantastical set pieces where he even gets to perform aerial stunts in a biplane! The king's professors, Holofernia (Geraldine McEwan, "The Love Letter") and Nathaniel (Richard Briers, Branagh's "Hamlet") represent the senior set, albeit capped and gowned ones. Nathan Lane is The Great Costard, a vaudevilian who is the agent of crossed wires, while Richard Clifford (Branagh's "Much Ado About Nothing") is Boyet, the ladies' 'old lovemonger.'
Branagh's love of old films is shown in dance numbers which mimic Astaire and Rogers, Esther Williams, the June Taylor dancers and
even Bob Fosse, while non-dancing scenes recall the likes of "Casblanca" and the Marx Brothers. Production design (Tim Harvey) and art direction (Mark Raggett) are superb, using muted colors and obvious set bound fakery to both mimic old films and throw the players into the spotlight. Costumes (Anna Buruma) are gorgeous, particularly the four ladies' color themed ensembles in red (Silverstone), blue (McElhone), orange (Ejogo) and green (Mortimer).
This thoroughly delightful entertainment is presented by Stanley Donen and Martin Scorsese - high praise indeed. This is one to remember for this year's award nominations, and should bring a smile to any film lover's face.
A
ROBIN:
It's the Bard meets Busby Berkeley as director Kenneth Branagh adapts Shakespeare, this time with "Love's Labour's Lost," for the big screen, but with an unconventional twist. Branagh stages his version of the play as a lush, lively musical that pays as much homage to the classic musical extravaganzas of 1930's as it does to Will S.
It's 1939 and the King of Navarre (Alessandro Nivola) swears an oath with his three best friends to forsake the company of woman for three years so the quartet may devote themselves to the lofty study of philosophy. This plan is thrown into complete disarray with the arrival of the Princess of France (Alicia Silverstone) and her three beautiful attendants.
The men are smitten by the beauty and charm of the women and each, secretly, seeks to seduce his beloved. Eventually, all four men realize that each has betrayed their sacred oath, but recover from the disappointment as they fall for the magic of love.
Branagh takes one of Shakespeare's lesser-known plays and puts his own imaginative spin on the subject. Besides setting the play in a fictional European kingdom at the brink of World War II, he introduces the music of the era as a key element of the story. Salted throughout the film's runtime are all manner of dance numbers that honor the stylish choreography of Busby Berkeley's colorful musicals (the original "42nd Street," "The Gold Diggers of 1933"). The classic overhead shots of pretty, geometrically placed young women are reprised in the new film, even including a nod to the Ester Williams waterlogged musicals that carried Berkeley's signature style into the 40's.
Accompanying the flashy dance numbers that Branagh and choreographer Stuart Hopps so lovingly create is a litany of songs that capture the spirit put forth by the film's creators. Such musical maestros as George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern were selected to supply the wonderful tunes used for the numerous, flashy dance numbers. Branagh's choice of such seminal song and dance numbers as "I Get A Kick Out of You," "Cheek to Cheek," "Let's Face the Music & Dance," and other great songs had me whistling for days after seeing "Love's Labour's Lost." The songs are the best part of the film.
Where "Love's Labour's Lost" is problematic is in Branagh's attempt to mix genres. The music is great. The dance numbers, utilizing actors rather than singers/dancers, are done with great enthusiasm by the players, but with uneven results. Everyone works very hard, but only a couple of the principles look the look of hoofers. Adrian Lester (playing the King's friend Dumaine) has a background that includes a variety of stage and screen musicals and it shows in his graceful execution of his dance numbers. Nathan Lane ("The Birdcage") shows his Broadway chops in his performance as Costard the Clown, recreating the moves of a true vaudevillian. Of the rest of the amateur dancers, Branagh shows the most grace as the King's trusted friend, Berowne, working harder than anyone does in his effort at being Fred Astaire. The rest of the cast give their all, but come across as enthusiastic and plucky non-professionals.
The crossover between the musical interludes and the straight Shakespearean dialogue doesn't flow well. The almost abrupt way the dance numbers, with their 30's lyrics, ends and the "But, hark" of Shakespeare's lingo kicks in is distracting. Branagh has a firm enough grasp of the Bard's work that his delivery is fine. The rest, though, fare lass well. Alicia Silverstone, in her big speech near the end, is wooden and unconvincing. She delivers her lines like she's reciting them, without passion. Natascha McElhone is pretty and charming as Berowne's love interest, Rosaline. Of the rest of the ensemble cast, only Timothy Spall ("Topsy-Turvy") fares well as the outrageously accented Spaniard who considers himself a loyal friend to the king. Costume design, by Anna Buruma (who, coincidentally, once worked at the Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussaud's) has a sweet continuity as each of les dames has her own color scheme with red, blue, green and peach as the primary color for their costumes. The scheme is carried through not only with the many different outfits of each, but with accessories, too, including the boutonni hres of the suitor and even the ladies' cocktails. It helps you keep track of who loves whom, too. Production design, by Tim Harvey, a long time collaborator with Branagh, provides suitable period feel.
In the end, "Love's Labour's Lost" feels derivative of Woody Allen's "Everyone Says I Love You," but with the Bard's work as the subject matter. Branagh's oeuvre has more to it when it comes to song and dance and less in the overall execution. The musical numbers, alone, are worth the price of admission and I give it a B.
For more Reeling reviews visit www.reelingreviews.com
[email protected]
[email protected]
More on 'Love's Labour's Lost'...
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
