Much Ado about Nothing

This film, released in 1993, is the cinema adaptation of a comedy by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an English poet and playwright. He is often called the English national poet and the greatest playwright of all time. His plays, written at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century are still performed all over the world. Who has not heard of Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet or King Lear ?

Much Ado about Nothing was adapted for the screen by Kenneth Branagh. He is a contemporary British actor, director and writer. He was born in 1960 in Belfast and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He then joined the very prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company. He has adapted several of Shakespeare's plays for the cinema and according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica can be "credited with making Shakespeare accessible to the masses". He was married, until 1995, to actress Emma Thomson, who stars with him in Much Ado about Nothing. The cast also includes Kate Beckinsale, Denzel Washington and Keanu Reeves. 

The film was a huge success and won the London Critics Circle Film Awards in 1994 and the Guardian says that Kenneth Branagh "has directed or acted in several fine adaptations of Shakespeare's plays" but his "best one" is "Much Ado about Nothing".

VOCABULARY

released : sorti
playwright : dramaturge
to perform : jouer
he can be credited : on peut lui attribuer le mérite de…
huge : immense

The war has ended and Don Pedro with his half-brother Don John and his companions, the young Lords Benedick and Claudio arrive in Messina, Sicily. They are welcomed by Leonato, Governor of Messina, who has a daughter named Hero. Claudio, who falls in love with her and wants to marry her, describes her as "a jewel" or "the sweetest lady that I ever looked on" (Act I, scene 1).

They are soon due to be married. However Don John, who resents his half-brother's victory and dislikes Don Pedro's companions, decides to plot against the young lovers. He will trick Claudio into believing that Hero is not faithful.

Meanwhile, Hero's cousin, the lady Beatrice enjoys arguing playfully with Benedick but both claim not to be interested in falling in love. Benedick himself brags that "I will live a bachelor" (Act I, scene 1). 

Their friends however realise how well suited they are to each other and conspire to make them aware of their true feelings. 
This is a play about deception, lies and misunderstandings but in the end love will triumph.

Comparing a stage production of Shakespeare's play and Kenneth Branagh adaptation, a Los Angeles Times journalist wrote that  the film " is gorgeous to look at (no stage production could possibly match its lush scenery) and equally beautiful to listen to". 

Kenneth Branagh in the first few scenes of the film sets the mood and the pace of his screen version of Shakespeare's play. First we hear Beatrice's voice reciting a few lines of poetry : "Sigh no more ladies / Men were deceivers ever…". The audience discovers the beautiful Italian scenery and some of the characters. Then the soldiers coming back from war are seen galloping through the countryside. The women, as soon as they see them from afar, rush back to get ready and look their best to welcome the war heroes. As critic AM Constantini-Cornède says : "The mood of mirth is further expounded in the rest of this long sequence as it shows both sides’ pre-encounters and feverish preparations at length." 

Quotations about Much Ado about Nothing

"Rather than moralising on the evils of deception, the masked ball in Much Ado about Nothing encourages us, from the outset, to relish the joy of trickery.   […] Applauding Shakespeare’s masterful use of dramatic irony, we take mischievous pleasure in knowing more than those on stage." (Andrea Varney)

"In a strikingly modern scenario, the real block that needs to be overcome is the characters’ own resistance to commitment and their fear of vulnerability." (Emma Smith)

"In 1993, Kenneth Branagh made a first-rate film that began, unforgettably, with the sight of the returning soldiery galloping apace over an Italian plain." (The Guardian, Michael Billington)

Variety Magazine called Kenneth Branagh's adaptation : "a film that is continuously enjoyable from its action-filled opening to the dazzling final shot"

"The breezy, colourful Much Ado won the praise of critics and attracted an unusually large and diverse audience". (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

VOCABULARY

a jewel : bijou
to resent : en vouloir (à quelqu'un)
to plot : comploter
to trick someone into believing : se jouer de quelqu'un pour lui faire croire
faithful : fidèle
meanwhile : pendant ce temps
to claim : prétendre
to brag : se vanter
to be suited to : bien aller avec
deception : tromperie, mensonge
misunderstanding : malentendu
lush : luxuriant
to set the mood : donner le ton
to sigh : soupirer
deceiver : trompeur
from afar : de loin
mirth : joie
expounded : développé
feverish : fiévreux
evils : méfaits
from the outset : dès le début
to relish : savourer
trickery : ruse
mischievous : coquin
strikingly : remarquablement
to overcome : surmonter
commitment : engagement
sight : vue
apace : rapidement
dazzling : éblouissant
breezy : gai, enjoué
praise : éloges