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More Much Ado About Nothing
Jun. 28th, 2013 04:30 pmSo a bunch of us saw Joss Whedon's "Much Ado about Nothing" last night at the Uptown. It was fucking fabulous. Visually beautiful, beautifully acted, cleverly paced, all in all just wonderful.
The big surprise was Fran Kranz, who played Claudio. Claudio is a particularly thankless role. He has to be naive and gullible, but not too stupid to live. Robert Sean Leonard didn't quite pull it off in Branagh's MAAN, even though I was strongly inclined to like him. In the end, he looks a bit stupid and a lot out of his depth. Kranz was brilliant, funny, and sympathetic. Fillion was also wonderful as Dogberry. (And a welcome change from Michael Keaton in the same role.) Surprisingly, I guess, I much prefer Whedon's MAAN to Branagh's, for all that Branagh has all the cred as a Shakespearean.
It was witty. It was funny. It didn't take any appalling liberties with the text. The Elizabethan language was there in all its majesty, but the actors were so good that it was incredibly easy to understand, right from the beginning. The love stories were credible. The appalling scene when Hero is denounced was utterly appalling, but you didn't hate Leonato. It brought the funny, it brought the pathos, it brought the romance, it was just all there.
And the house gets an honorable mention. There was a charming scene in which Claudio and Benedick are being shown to their room, and it is a little room with two twin beds, and a book case full of teddy bears. Lovely bit of visual humor. There were little bits like that throughout the production.
It's at the Edina this week. Go see it if you haven't. I am totally going to buy the DVD when it comes out.
The big surprise was Fran Kranz, who played Claudio. Claudio is a particularly thankless role. He has to be naive and gullible, but not too stupid to live. Robert Sean Leonard didn't quite pull it off in Branagh's MAAN, even though I was strongly inclined to like him. In the end, he looks a bit stupid and a lot out of his depth. Kranz was brilliant, funny, and sympathetic. Fillion was also wonderful as Dogberry. (And a welcome change from Michael Keaton in the same role.) Surprisingly, I guess, I much prefer Whedon's MAAN to Branagh's, for all that Branagh has all the cred as a Shakespearean.
It was witty. It was funny. It didn't take any appalling liberties with the text. The Elizabethan language was there in all its majesty, but the actors were so good that it was incredibly easy to understand, right from the beginning. The love stories were credible. The appalling scene when Hero is denounced was utterly appalling, but you didn't hate Leonato. It brought the funny, it brought the pathos, it brought the romance, it was just all there.
And the house gets an honorable mention. There was a charming scene in which Claudio and Benedick are being shown to their room, and it is a little room with two twin beds, and a book case full of teddy bears. Lovely bit of visual humor. There were little bits like that throughout the production.
It's at the Edina this week. Go see it if you haven't. I am totally going to buy the DVD when it comes out.
