Review of Much Ado About Nothing (2013) by Jacob G — 13 Jul 2014
Joss Whedon's magic touch continues with Much Ado About Nothing.
It's one of those cases where the summary sounds exceptionally droll: b&w film, modern setting enactment of a Shakespeare play, using the same language as Shakespeare.
And yet those same things that make the movie sound droll actually work to its benefit.
Even though my exposure to the Shakespeare play is limited to a read-through in Shakespeare class and, perhaps, watching a stage adaptation, Shakespeare's sharp language here allows the movie to crack with familiarity.
Yet the modern setting allows us to see things in a new light. While at first blush the setting and archaic language seem at odds, not modernizing the words keeps Much Ado from becoming a fluff piece like so many other modern versions of Shakespeare plays.
The modern setting allows us to see the absurdities of some of the events for what they are, such as the insane swiftening of marriage. But shooting in color film would (probably) make the whole thing feel overwhelmingly modern. I dunno. I guess its a case of one aesthetic vs another, but I'd argue Whedon made the right choice.
That said, if you're like me and have trouble following Shakespeare because of how he uses words, turning on subtitles is highly recommended.
This review of Much Ado About Nothing (2013) was written by Jacob G on 13 Jul 2014.
Much Ado About Nothing has generally received positive reviews.
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