I don’t need more Shakespeare in my life. Even if I agree with the idea that he’s the greatest author in history*, there’s simply no way that his level of greatness matches the amount that he is taught in schools. I’m just as tired of people bending over backwards to convince me of his relevancy or how his works are just as populist as anything today. To be clear, they were populist at the time, but populist is an evolving term. It’s so awkward the times I’ve seen Shakespeare plays how audiences try to will their way to surprised reactions. We know the stories. We know the jokes. We all know the language sounds unnatural to us now. Can we stop pretending?
*I’m not sure that I do, but let’s play along.
On the other hand, like how there are too many WWII stories out there, if Shakespeare is done well enough or with enough of an interesting take, I can still like it well enough. If nothing else, I’m fascinated by how Henry V is adapted in this movie. It starts as an actual production of the play in the Globe Theater in 1600, then morphs into a live-action account of the actual battle of Agincourt. It’s clever. The stage production part suggests an authentic reaction to the play. It’s easy for me to believe how a rowdy 17th century audience would react to everything rather than a staid 20th century audience. When it switches to the “real” part, there’s still a level of artificiality to it that reminds me it’s still just being a play.
I really don’t think Shakespeare can work on film without that level of artificiality. So many Shakespeare adaptations try to make it real. Shakespearean dialog isn’t meant to sound real though. They can shoot in an actual castle and spend a fortune on accurate costumes, but the characters are still taking in perfectly written verse. I wish more adaptations would do what Henry V does and own up to being a play right away.
Verdict: Weakly Don’t Recommend
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