Love's Labour's Lost

4 February 2019

Love’s Labour’s Lost 2000

• Director: Kenneth Branagh
• Based on the play by William Shakespeare
• Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Alessandro Nivola, Alicia Silverstone, Natascha McElhone, Carmen Ojogo, Mathhew Lillard, Adrian Lester, Emily Mortimer, Richard Briers, Geraldine McEwan, Stefania Rocca, Jimmy Yuill, Nathan Lane, Timothy Spall, Anthony O’Donnell, Daniel Hill, Richard Clifford
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Kenneth Branagh – Dunkirk, Wallander, My Week with Marilyn, The Boat that Rocked, Valkyria, Sleuth 2007, Shackleton, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Rabbit-Proof Fence, How to Kill Your Neighbour’s Dog, Wild Wild West, Hamlet, Othello, Frankenstein, Much Ado About Nothing, Swing Kids, Peter’s Friends, Dead Again, Henry V, Fortunes of War
• Alessandro Nivola – Ginger and Rosa, The Darwin Award, Junebug, Face/Off
• Natascha McElhone – The Kid, Ladies in Lavender, Cold Lazarus, Karaoke
• Carmen Ojogo – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Absolute Beginners
• Adrian Lester – London Spy, Hustle, Merlin, Bonekickers, Doomsday, As You Like It, Day after Tomorrow, Hamlet, Born Romantic
• Emily Mortimer – Hugo, Shutter Island, Lars and the Real Girl, Paris je t’aime, Dear Frankie, Bright Young Things, Young Adam, The Kid, Notting Hill, Elizabeth
• Richard Briers – Extras, Hamlet, Frankenstein, Much Ado About Nothing, Peter’s Friends, In the Bleak Midwinter, Henry V, Twelfth Night
• Geraldine McEwan – The Magdalene Sisters, Titus, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, Henry V
• Jimmy Yuill – The Magic Flute, As You Like It, Ladies in Lavender, Hamish Macbeth, Frankenstein, Much Ado about Nothing, Henry V, Local Hero
• Nathan Lane – Swing Vote, Frankie & Johnny, Joe and the Volcano, Ironweed
• Timothy Spall – Mr Turner, The Love Punch, Harry Potter, The King’s Speech, Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, My House in Umbria, All or Nothing, Topsy-Turvy, Our Mutual Friend, Hamlet, Spender, Life is Sweet, Gothic, Quadrophenia
• Anthony O’Donnell – Doctor Who, Skyfall, Much Ado about Nothing, Twenty Thousand Streets under the Sky, Vera Drake
• Daniel Hill – Broadchurch, United, Harry Potter, Rose and Maloney
• Richard Clifford – My Week with Marilyn, As You Like It, Frankenstein, Much Ado about Nothing, Henry V, Fortunes of War
• Why? Shakespeare, Branagh
• Seen: Two or three times before, now 3 February 2019      

       When this film was released it got bad reviews. You can’t put Ira Gershwin song and dance into a Shakespeare play! Set in the beginning of World War II!

       Well, yes, you can. I’m a great believer in mixing, in stretching boundaries.

       I love the play. It’s full of silliness, so of course the film must be too. I’m sure Shakespeare had fun with it, why shouldn’t Branagh? Why shouldn’t we?

       Timothy Spall really hams it up, Adrian Lester is always gorgeous to watch and Geraldine McEwan as Holofernia is an inspired choice. The song and dance numbers are sweets for the eye and ear.

       Giggles, chuckles, chortles, smiles, laugh-out-loud laughs from start to finish.

       Well, almost. That tone of gravity as the war breaks out and the demands the women make on the men suddenly brings a little depth to all the silliness.

       Thank you, Sir Ken. Again, you give us the spirit of Shakespeare.

       How can anyone not love this?

5 * of 5 (Hal says 4 ½ *, can’t quite go to 5.) (OK, it’s not perfect. The general giggliness can be a bit much. Silverstone as the Princess and Lilliard as Longaville aren’t quite right for the roles. But the good stuff makes me almost forget that. So, let’s say…)

6* of 7