CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Keira Brennan The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

James Hitchcock At one time adaptors of Shakespeare for the cinema trended to concentrate more on his tragedies and history plays rather than his comedies. The 1990s, however, saw two very fine adaptations of Shakespearean comedies, Kenneth Branagh's "Much Ado about Nothing" and Trevor Nunn's "Twelfth Night"."Twelfth Night" is another name for the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6th, and the action of the play is supposed to take place around that date. Nunn, however, did not shoot this film in winter but in autumn; filming actually took place in November, but the crew were mostly lucky with the weather and the look of the countryside might suggest late September or early October. Although the setting is still officially "Illyria", an old name for Croatia, Nunn effectively updates the action to Victorian England. The film was shot on location in Cornwall, with St Michael's Mount standing in for Orsino's palace and Lanhydrock for Olivia's mansion. Unlike his contemporary Marlowe in "Edward II", Shakespeare never dealt directly with the subject of homosexuality, but "Twelfth Night" is perhaps the play in which he came closest to dealing with it by implication. The plot revolves around a curious love-triangle, A loves B, who loves C, who loves A. Orsino, Duke of Illyria, is in love with the beautiful countess Olivia. She, however, has no interest in Orsino, but has fallen for "Cesario", the handsome young man whom Orsino uses as his go-between. Unknown to both Orsino and Olivia, however, the supposed "Cesario" is really a disguised woman, Viola- who has fallen in love with her employer. An extra complication- and a possible solution to the problem- arises when Viola's identical twin brother Sebastian, whom she previously believed to be dead, arrives on the scene. (Yes, I know that in reality you cannot have identical opposite-sex twins, but Shakespearean comedies are not noted for their strict realism). The lesbian overtones to the Olivia/Viola relationship would probably have been rather muted in Shakespeare's day when all female roles would have been played by boys, but here Helena Bonham-Carter and Imogen Stubbs (the director's wife) make the most of them. Even with the assistance of a quasi-military uniform and a false moustache, the lovely Imogen never looks particularly masculine, so there is an implication that Olivia has fallen for someone she consciously believes to be male but subconsciously knows to be female. The gay overtones to the relationship between Toby Stephens' Orsino and "Cesario", and to that between Sebastian and Antonio, the sea-captain who has befriended him, are perhaps even stronger. Certainly, Orsino's conversations with "Cesario" seem remarkably intimate if he really does believe his young companion to be male.Along with the likes of "Much Ado…" and "As You Like It", "Twelfth Night" is sometimes described as a "joyous" comedy in contradistinction to more "problematic" comedies like "Measure for Measure" and "All's Well that Ends Well". It does, however, have its darker side; several characters, for example, have recently suffered bereavement, or believe themselves to have done so, and this production tends to stress the darkness underlying the play. The autumnal setting contributes to this feeling, as does the fact that most of the characters are seen dressed in black.The dark overtones are particularly pronounced in the sub-plot involving Olivia's steward, Malvolio. He is sometimes played simply as a narrow- minded Puritan and his adversary Sir Toby as a jovial, lovable old man whose only concern is to have his "cakes and ale". For Nunn, however, matters are not so simple. Nigel Hawthorne's Malvolio- the one character for whom there is no happy ending- is an essentially tragic figure, a dignified and dedicated servant who is tricked into making a fool of himself by a gang of people who have taken an irrational dislike to him. His name is derived from the Italian for "ill will", yet its significance here may be that Malvolio is not so much the perpetrator of malice as the victim of the malice of others. There is an excellent performance from Mel Smith, better known as a television comedian, as Sir Toby. Smith brings out both the nastiness and the sadness which lie at the heart of his character. Sir Toby is a man of wealth and noble family (he is Olivia's uncle) who has spent his whole life in feasting, drinking and womanising and who has a fondness for cruel practical jokes; besides his tricking of Malvolio he dupes his friend Andrew Aguecheek and "Cesario" into fighting a duel. (Both acquit themselves surprisingly well, given that one is really a woman and the other an arrant coward). Yet there is also an implied sadness about Smith's characterisation; Toby knows that his life has been a wasted one, but feels that it is too late to amend.Besides Hawthorne and Smith there are too many good contributions to single them all out individually. I must, however, mention Stubbs, who is able to suggest both a male persona and the underlying woman, and Ben Kingsley as Olivia's jester Feste, whom he plays less as a clown than as a sardonic old philosopher, an eccentric but also a man gifted with penetrating insights into human life. "Twelfth Night" is one of Shakespeare's best-known comedies, and like all well-known Shakespeare plays it has become very familiar in the theatre. A good director, however, whether in the theatre or on screen, will always be able to find something new to say about it, and that is what Nunn has done here. He and his cast have found new insights into this great play, enabling us to see it with new eyes. An excellent production. 9/10

david-sarkies After having watched a movie about twins I sit down and write a rant about another movie, based on a Shakespearian play, which is about twins. However, while the confusion and the comic element of mistaking identical twins does arise at the end, the fact that the main character is one of a twin only becomes relevant at the end. The comic element of the main plot (as opposed to the plot involving Malvolio) regards a woman disguising herself as a man and becoming the servant of Duke Orsino, and when she becomes his confidant, she falls in love with him, but cannot respond without giving away who she really is.The play that I read in university was As You Like It, and this play is sort of a mix between As You Like It and Comedy of Errors. The heroine, Viola, is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria and decides to disguise herself as a man for her own protection (nothing to do with transgender desires as some want to put it). While in service to the Duke, he gets Viola to attempt to court Olivia however Olivia (who also believes that Viola is a man) falls in love with him. This gets even more twisted when Sebastian, Viola's twin brother, arrives and Olivia, believing him to be Viola, marries him.This particular version of the play is well done, though there are a lot of additions, and the scenes are changed about to make it flow better on the screen. I should not suggest that the creators decided to add to Shakespeare as the only additional dialogue is at the beginning where the scene is set. However scenes are moved and merged to make the play more adaptable to the big screen, The main tension is between Orsino, who is in love with Olivia, and Viola, and then there is Olivia who is in love with Viola, who does not realise (as does Orsina) that Viola is a woman. It appears that the clown does, but if he does, he is not letting on. The play climaxes with Sebastian and Viola reuniting, and Malvolio being released.One should mention the Malvolio subplot though. While all of the romantic action is going on, Sir Toby Belch (Olivia's uncle), Sir Andrew (a suitor), the clown and some servants, become rather irritated at Malvolio's seriousness, so they decided to trick him into believing that Olivia is in love with him. When he makes a fool of himself in front of Olivia, he is cast into a dungeon, pleading his innocence and his sanity, while the conspirators laugh at his misfortune. I felt sorry of Malvolio because he didn't do anything wrong, and not only was he tricked, but it appears that the tricksters get away with it.Finally, I wish to note that while Shakespeare deals a lot with romantic love, I wondered whether there were ever incidents of characters marrying below their status. It happens here since Sebastian and Viola are both orphans, and they end up marrying the duke and the lady.

Dan A lively, bubbly production of one of Shakespeare's more difficult plays. It's hard to know just what Shakespeare was getting at with this story. The text doesn't always seem to make sense. That's reflected in this, as well as any other, production. At times, one wonders what the expressions on characters' faces are meant to indicate. Just after Feste has fooled Malvolio with his imitation of the curate, for instance, Maria has a perturbed look on her face. As if the joke that she herself so elaborately designed now troubles her. There's nothing in the text to indicate that her expression should show remorse; and yet Sir Toby soon after says that he's sick of the whole thing. Why? That's one example of the difficulty of the text (which may have been corrupted over the centuries), and how it is manifested in this particular production's choices. I don't know why Sir Toby remarks at this point that he's sick of the joke, nor do I know whether Maria should share his feelings.Another difficulty is the role of Feste. Ben Kingsley fills this role, and because Ben Kingsley is a major star, he magnifies this character (in my opinion) out of all proportion. He becomes a sort of Zen master, pompous and oppressive. His jokes aren't funny (maybe we can't find Shakespeare's jokes funny today, but Kingsley's heavy delivery precludes humor), and his last confrontation with Malvolio comes off as a sort of thundering divine retribution. The entire play, the entire cast, stops dead and Feste takes over as if the whole point of the play has been his apotheosis at the expense of the degraded Malvolio. This surely cannot be what Shakespeare had in mind. Throughout the play he has a disconcerting habit of staring at other characters or the camera with what almost be described as a leer.Maybe Shakespeare would have sighed and commiserated with the producer of this film, because the clowns in his day were also big stars who demanded a lot of meat in their roles. The trouble is that there just isn't much meat in Feste's role according to the text, so we're stuck with leers and thundering retribution and other inventions. Shakespeare had to accommodate his clowns with ever-more important roles, climaxing with characters like Touchstone and Lear's fool. Kingsley is just inventing his own character. At times his work is interesting, but his weight in the production is, as I said, oppressive.Still, his screen time is relatively small, and much of the rest of the play is a joy, even if the point of the story isn't always clear. Bonham-Carter was never more alluring, Hawthorne is priceless as Malvolio (he was born for the role), and Smith and Grant are the perfect combination of Belch and Aguecheek. I suppose you might object that all four of them put their eyebrows to such prodigious use that their acting might be characterized as hamming. But I don't see how any of these characters can be played straight if the play is to work.One thing is for sure, no one would ever accuse this production of bogging down. The pace is lively, the sets and the cinematography are always striking, the score is invigorating, and I suspect that I could watch this film dubbed in Swahili and it would still be a lot of fun. Visually arresting is perhaps the best description.

joliefille411 I was introduced to this delight in the 10th grade during World History as an implementation of my teacher's favorite instructing method- stick in a movie and assign an outline. Dark room, people whispering or making out in the corner, dull movie: this class was normally known as Nap Time, but not that day. In went the tape and out came a story full of vivacity, charm, hilarity and heart.The story is of a girl, Viola, who loses her brother and disguises herself as him to find work. She falls in love with the Duke, who has sent her to woo a countess by the name of Olivia, who has lost her brother as well. Of course, Olivia falls in love with Viola, thinking she is a young man. Viola now must reject one love because she is a woman and be rejected by another love that believes she is a man. What to do? Throw more people into the mix! Olivia, being a countess and therefore rich as anything, has no lack of other admirers from the insanely stupid Sir Andrew Aguecheeck that her uncle encourages for sport to her pious steward, Malvolio. Each person vies for her attentions while she goes insane over the one "man" she cannot have. Enter Sebastian, Viola's twin brother who *gasp* didn't die after all. Much confusion and laughter later, Viola is finally able to shed her "masculine usurped attire" and profess her love for the now-frazzled Duke. Don't worry about Olivia, she gets to keep a copy, the ever-willing Sebastian.Watching this movie the first time, I could hardly believe it was written 400 years ago. The story relates flawlessly to a modern audience. Watching it for the hundredth time after I bought it, I am still captivated by the genius adaption. The script is so funny and intertwines plot lines seamlessly. The actors actually know what they are trying to say, which is half of conveying the meaning of the "difficult" language. Even if I did not understand every word, I would get the meaning with help from the incredible acting.Imogene Stubbs is beautiful as Viola- she really makes a very cute, albeit effeminate "boy." I felt the most for her, especially when she tells the Duke the story of her love for him under the guise of a "sister." Toby Stephens as the Duke was quite handsome, and made the character more likable. If it had been another person, I would have wondered what in the world Viola saw in the whiny, fanciful man, but he was quite suave and charming.Olivia-Bonham-Carter shone as the almost bi-polar Olivia. She snapped from the pit of despair to the heights of love within a scene, but invited you to laugh with her in giddiness rather than snort in disbelief.Ben Kingsly was perfection as Feste, probably the best performance of the movie. He was a fool, but he knew it. He gave a performance of simple farce with a current of keen insight underneath.The others, Mel Smith, Imelda Staunton, Nigel Hawthorne, Richard Grant, Steven Mackintosh and Nicholas Farrell all provided excellent comedic support, tinged with the faintest hint of melancholy that brought just the right mix.Whether you're a fan of Shakespeare or not, Twelfth Night is without a doubt an amazing experience. It brings laughter, excitement and maybe even a misty eye with each viewing. Go rent it if you haven't seen it and if you have, pull it out and treat yourself tonight. I know I will.