"Much Ado About Nothing" is a real summer movie. Director Kenneth Branagh, who also adapted the Shakespeare play, has assembled a talented gallery of British actors (along with a couple of American stars) who really gel together and bring the film to life. The result is a film with plenty of wit, chemistry and gusto.
Opening in the sun-drenched fields of Messina (in reality, Tuscany, where the picture was filmed), a quiet prologue gives way to a stirring credits sequence as the Prince Don Pedro (Denzel Washington) and his men return from war, and Messina's Governor Leonato (Richard Briers) and his family prepare to greet them. This is the setting for a series of comical romantic shenanigans.
The brave but naive soldier Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard) immediately falls for Leonato's virtuous young daughter Hero (Kate Beckinsdale), and it takes a little matchmaking by the Prince in order to get them together. Elsewhere the Prince observes that the witty banter between his friend Benedick (Kenneth Branagh) and Beatrice (Emma Thompson) conceal a much deeper attraction, and he conspires with his friends to trick the pair into falling in love with each other.
Skulking his way through all of this is Don John (Keanu Reeves), Don Pedro's illegitimate brother, whose bitter envy of Claudio leads him to sabotage the courtship between him and Hero...
The original text of "Much Ado" contains a lot of poetic references to baldricks, toothaches and sheepskins. Branagh, in adapting the play, has thankfully clipped most of this out, though many of the play's better lines are still included. Only people who hate Shakespeare with a passion will fail to be enthralled by what is going on.
The talented cast excel in their various roles. Branagh and Emma Thompson), still married when this film was made, have a spiky chemistry together as Beatrice and Benedick. Denzel Washington lends a quiet nobility and dignity to Don Pedro, while Richard Briers turns in his usual fine performance as the feisty but savvy Leonato.
Kate Beckinsdale radiates innocence as the gentle Hero, although Robert Sean Leonard has a harder job as Claudio. He's fine being witty or enthusiastic, but is very awkward and forced when trying to portray anger or sorrow. Keanu Reeves, much mocked at the time for his lacklustre performance in "Bram Stoker's Dracula", is surprisingly effective as the scheming Don John, and is a really hissable villain.
The only actor who disappoints is Michael Keaton as Constable Dogberry, the policeman who instructs and supervises Leonato's night-time watch. Keaton unfortunately goes far too over-the-top and plays the constable as a demented drunkard. A more laid-back performance could have better accentuated the humour in the role.
The whole film is framed within Patrick Doyle's rousing music score, which gives the film a lot of its spirit and atmosphere.
All in all, a lighthearted and witty picture, and a fine example of a really good summer movie.
Opening in the sun-drenched fields of Messina (in reality, Tuscany, where the picture was filmed), a quiet prologue gives way to a stirring credits sequence as the Prince Don Pedro (Denzel Washington) and his men return from war, and Messina's Governor Leonato (Richard Briers) and his family prepare to greet them. This is the setting for a series of comical romantic shenanigans.
The brave but naive soldier Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard) immediately falls for Leonato's virtuous young daughter Hero (Kate Beckinsdale), and it takes a little matchmaking by the Prince in order to get them together. Elsewhere the Prince observes that the witty banter between his friend Benedick (Kenneth Branagh) and Beatrice (Emma Thompson) conceal a much deeper attraction, and he conspires with his friends to trick the pair into falling in love with each other.
Skulking his way through all of this is Don John (Keanu Reeves), Don Pedro's illegitimate brother, whose bitter envy of Claudio leads him to sabotage the courtship between him and Hero...
The original text of "Much Ado" contains a lot of poetic references to baldricks, toothaches and sheepskins. Branagh, in adapting the play, has thankfully clipped most of this out, though many of the play's better lines are still included. Only people who hate Shakespeare with a passion will fail to be enthralled by what is going on.
The talented cast excel in their various roles. Branagh and Emma Thompson), still married when this film was made, have a spiky chemistry together as Beatrice and Benedick. Denzel Washington lends a quiet nobility and dignity to Don Pedro, while Richard Briers turns in his usual fine performance as the feisty but savvy Leonato.
Kate Beckinsdale radiates innocence as the gentle Hero, although Robert Sean Leonard has a harder job as Claudio. He's fine being witty or enthusiastic, but is very awkward and forced when trying to portray anger or sorrow. Keanu Reeves, much mocked at the time for his lacklustre performance in "Bram Stoker's Dracula", is surprisingly effective as the scheming Don John, and is a really hissable villain.
The only actor who disappoints is Michael Keaton as Constable Dogberry, the policeman who instructs and supervises Leonato's night-time watch. Keaton unfortunately goes far too over-the-top and plays the constable as a demented drunkard. A more laid-back performance could have better accentuated the humour in the role.
The whole film is framed within Patrick Doyle's rousing music score, which gives the film a lot of its spirit and atmosphere.
All in all, a lighthearted and witty picture, and a fine example of a really good summer movie.