Much Ado About Nothing vs. Much Ado About Nothing
Due to the persistent public demand for performances and adaptations of the works of William Shakespeare, innumerable productions of his plays exist that, save for their shared stories and dialogue, are almost unrecognisable from one to the next. When staging or filming a particular Shakespeare play, theatre and film directors are unable to escape the legacy of the text they are working with, and so seek to portray their own interpretation of the play and put their own creative stamp on the material. Such is the case with Kenneth Branagh’s 1993 cinematic adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing and the 2005 BBC reimagining of the same play. Though they both tell essentially the same story, the two films are almost entirely different. Which, then, is more faithful to the spirit of the original play?
Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing was released in 1993. An entrant in the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, the film is also one of the most financially successful cinematic Shakespeare adaptations in history. Filming on location in Tuscany, Branagh retains the Italian Renaissance setting, lending an air of romanticism to the production. After Emma Thompson’s playful reading of Balthasar’s song Sigh no more over a dark screen, we fade in on a painting of a beautiful Tuscan villa. The camera moves, in what Timothy Corrigan refers to as a “pan”[1], to the left, and we bear witness to a lush pastoral landscape that is every bit as breathtaking as the painting. Composer Patrick Doyle’s soothing score, incorporating strings and a classical guitar, helps to create an atmosphere of calm and peace. Leonato, played here by Richard Briers, moves into frame and laughs with contentment as he continues to paint. The camera begins to track left, showing the inhabitants of the villa enjoying a leisurely picnic as Emma Thompson’s Beatrice continues to read the song. The tranquility is disturbed, however, when a messenger informs the party that Don Pedro and his men approach, fresh from their victory in a great battle. During the conversation between Beatrice and the messenger, edited using the “shot/reverse shot”[2] technique, Branagh frames Beatrice against the backdrop of open fields and the artfully designed villa, taking full advantage of the aesthetic advantages of shooting on location. What ensues next is a credits sequence that firmly establishes Branagh’s aspiration of making the film a work of spectacle and grandeur; indeed, Maurice Hindle notes that the famed actor and director made reference to “all the Hollywood that got packed into the film”[3] in promotional interviews for the adaptation.
A montage of close-ups is shown, in which Branagh focuses on individual insert shots, such as a flag flowing in the breeze or the hooves of horses kicking up dirt as they gallop onwards. Barnagh then begins to cut between wide shots of the picnickers running back to the villa and individual medium shots of each of the horse riders. This sequence is shot entirely in slow motion, adding to the grandiosity of the action. As the title card ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ appears onscreen, the camera cuts to a wide shot of all the riders as they throw their fists into the air and cheer. The score, now incorporating booming brass instruments and crashing cymbals, builds to a crescendo to announce the title of the film in a triumphantly exuberant manner. Branagh’s love for the material is palpable, and the shot selection and editing of the sequence seem explicitly designed to announce the return of Shakespeare to the screen in the grandest manner imaginable.
First broadcast in 2005, David Nicholl’s adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing was presented as part of the BBC’s Shakespeare Retold series, which placed four plays by William Shakespeare into a modern day context. The Much Ado About Nothing episode updates the story from Renaissance-era Messina as in the original text to a 21st century British television studio. Benedick, played by Damien Lewis, and Beatrice, played by Sarah Parish, are recast in the roles of bickering co-anchors of a local news program. This adaptation takes significant liberties with the plot of the original play, most notably in addition of a past relationship between Hero, played by Billie Piper, and Don, played by Derek Riddell.
The opening sequence of the BBC’s modernised version of Much Ado About Nothing is, even without comparing it to Branagh’s adaptation, decidedly low-key and technically unimpressive. Rather than Patrick Doyle’s rousing score, the viewer is instead treated to Tom Jones’ love song Help Yourself. Restricted by a television budget, director Brian Percival eschews the awe-inspiring landscape shots of Branagh’s introductory sequence in favour of cross-cutting between Beatrice and Benedick as they apparently both prepare for a date together. This is a wholly original scene that is not present in the original text, and represents Nicholl’s speculation as to the origin of the “merry war” between the two. The two characters are shown gazing into mirrors in close-up shots as they inspect their appearance, but while Beatrice’s face is wracked with insecurity and uncertainty, Benedick is smug and evidently extremely pleased by the sight of his reflection. This quickly establishes this adaptation’s portrayal of Benedick as a smarmy and self-involved blowhard who comes to redeem himself over the course of the story. Beatrice scatters flower petals on the bed, obviously concerned with romance, but as Benedick applies deodorant to his crotch, it is clear that he is driven by interests that are far more sexual than they are sensual. As Benedick leaves his house, we briefly see the ocean in the background. Percival has traded the vast and vivacious Tuscan countryside for a small, somewhat grotty seaside town in Wessex. This setting, and indeed the whole opening sequence, is indicative of the scope of the entire film; everything is on a smaller scale than in Branagh’s version.
While the Shakespeare Retold presentation of Much Ado About Nothing is a divertingly entertaining affair, it unfortunately pales in comparison to Branagh’s masterful adaptation. The opening sequences are hugely informative in that they establish the tone that each film maintains to their conclusions. Branagh’s vision in his role as director is cinematic and grandiose, and he brings the characters and story of the original text to life in so enthusiastic a manner that passion and joy is evident in every frame, every camera movement and every line of dialogue. It is a film that, while unafraid to be whimsical and amusingly eccentric at times, also explores the complexities of Shakespeare’s play. Conversely, Much Ado About Nothing as produced by the BBC is a light and frothy affair that is lacking in dramatic weight. Though it incorporates intertextuality and self-awareness at times, such as the scene in which Benedick reads his favourite Shakespeare sonnets to Beatrice, it ultimately sorely lacks the subtlety of writing and performance that is abundant in Branagh’s film. It is clear that Nicholl and Percival were aiming to retell the story in a way that would appeal to mainstream viewers who may be unfamiliar with the works of Shakespeare, but this sadly does not excuse its shortcomings as both an adaptation and a film in its own right. It is my belief that in his film, Kenneth Branagh has produced the definitive cinematic adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing, and the Shakespeare Retold version simply does not compare.
Bibliography
Corrigan, Timothy. A Short Guide to Writing About Film. Pearson: Illinois, 2012.
Hindle, Maurice. Studying Shakespeare on Film. Palgrave Macmillan: New York, 2007.
[1] Timothy Corrigan, A Short Guide to Writing About Film (Pearson: Illinois, 2012), pg. 176.
[2] ibid, pg. 177
[3] Maurice Hindle, Studying Shakespeare on Film (Palgrave Macmillan: New York, 2007), pg. 115.
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