hmm. Branagh criticism

[burntcopper]

Much ado about nothing : dammit. I love this film. Really I do. The Benedick/Beatrice banter is a joy to behold, and Denzel... oh, Denzel. Not just *mrowr*, but ♥.

But argh, I'd forgotten how much I hate Claudio as a character. STABBY.

That and Keanu's acting. :winces:

Well, and the fact that Branagh can't handle any 'Fool' scenes. I've seen those done well. Michael Keaton and Ben Elton look like gurning idiots.

So I fast-forwarded through the bad stuff and rewinded the Benedick/Beatrice, then swooned over Denzel a bit more. It's the only thing you can do, really.

Comments

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

yeah. I've seen other productions of Much Ado where the audience nearly pissed themselves laughing at the fools' section. Branagh just can't direct the fools' scenes well in any of his that I've seen, unless you count Loves' Labour's Lost. Where injecting a bunch of musical numbers actually makes the play so much better. (yes, I have a contempt for LLL as a script. It's just... bleh. Unlike my dislike for Tempest, which is based on many viewings - I know it's technically good, I've seen great acting in it, I just hate the play.)

(btw - it's Cusack)