The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice
(TV Movie)

Bob Peck as Shylock

1996
4/5 stars


Antonio (Benjamin Whitrow) takes out a loan from money-lender Shylock (Bob Peck) for his friend Bassanio (Paul McGann), promising a pound of flesh if he can't repay. When disaster strikes and Antonio looses everything, Shylock is determined to make him pay in full. Bassanio's new wife, Portia (Haydn Gwynne), dons male garb and takes on the role as lawyer, to teach Shylock mercy.

Peck played Shylock well, and with much emotion, though his best speech was somewhat rushed.
McGann was an earnest Bassanio, but his unattractive costumes and terrible hair style were quite distracting.  Gwynne played Portia with grace, giving her famous speech in fine style.  The rest of the cast also acted naturally and elegantly.  The costumes and sets are those of Shakespeare's intended era of Venice, and for the most part, looked lovely.  Overall, though it left out some less important scenes, it was a fine performance and worth watching.

Twelfth Night

Twelfth Night
TV movie: 1969

Raymond, Plowright

4/5 stars

This is a tale of twins, Viola and Sebastian (both played by Joan Plowright), who are separated by a shipwreck. Viola disguises herself as a man (Cesario) and becomes an attendant to Duke Orsino (Gary Raymond), with whom she falls in love. He loves Olivia (Adreinne Corri), who in turn falls in love with Cesario.   The plot is further complicated when Malvolio (Alec Guinness), Olivia's steward, is tricked into believing that she is in love with him.

This version was directed by John Sichel and John Dexter, and shows both comedy and drama equally well. Guinness is superb as Malvolio, both comedic and tragic.  Plowright, while an excellent actress, is not visually convincing, and this weakens the performance.  The other weakness is the plot itself.  As I said in my review of the play, too many ends need tying up, and it is done too quickly in the last scene.  Otherwise, this is a delightful performance of Shakespeare's light and enjoyable play.

Damn the Defiant!

Damn the Defiant!
(originally released as HMS Defiant)
1962
4/5 stars

Captain Crawford (Alec Guinness) of HMS Defiant takes on a new Lieutenant, Scott-Padget (Dirk Bogarde), who becomes hated by the crew and is the eventual cause of their mutiny under the leadership of seaman Vizard (Anthony Quayle).

Guinness is, naturally, fantastic as the well-respected Captain.  His emotions are obvious, giving a depth to the character.  Bogarde and Quayle are credible in their roles, displaying fine acting as well.  The plot is easy to follow, often exciting, and always interesting.  The viewer is left guessing as to what the ending will be.  Costumes and sets looked good, especially the Defiant.  My only problem with this film is the inexplicable weakness of Crawford in a few parts; he reacted in a way that no Captain of that era would have.  Otherwise, it's a good movie with lots of action and excellent acting.

Guinness and Bogarde

This movie is available to rent on Amazon.

Emma

Emma
4 part mini-series
2009
5/5 stars

Based on Jane Austen's novel, this mini-series focuses on Emma Woodhouse (Romola Garai), vain, spoiled, and the belle of her small town, as she tries her hand at matchmaking with disastrous results.  As with the novel, this Emma is almost unlikable, and yet. . . there is still a goodness about her that Mr. Knightly(Jonny Lee Miller) and the reader/viewer are able to see.

This is one of my favorite Austen novels for it's wit and perspicacity.  I was delighted with how closely the series followed the book, deviating only in minor matters.  The producers also kept a good feel of Regency times; I had issues, again, with only minor matters.  Costumes, hairstyles, locations, and sets were all fantastic. The actors were well cast, and they all did a fine job.  Tamsin Greig was particularly good as Miss Bates, as was Michael Gambon's portrayal of Mr. Woodhouse. I truly enjoyed this mini-series and would recommend it for both fans of the book, and those unfamiliar with the novel.

This movie is available with Amazon Prime.

Victoria and Abdul

Victoria and Abdul
2017
3/5 stars

Victoria and Abdul is the "'mostly" true story of the unlikely friendship between Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) and a Muslim Indian, Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal).  Karim is sent from India as an emissary, and the Queen is taken with him and his easy personality, treats him with favor, and bestows honors on him.  Her family and attendants, especially her son Bertie (later to be Edward VII, played by Eddie Izzard), dislike him and his influence and try to discredit him with the Queen.

Dame Judi is fantastic in this role.  She plays ailing, grouchy, and old to perfection, then lights up the screen with grace, majesty and strength. It would not surprise me to see her win awards for this performance.

Fazal was also wonderful in his role as sweet, endearing, devoted to the Queen.  However, his part was not three-dimensional--he was too perfect, too servile.  The viewer was left wondering what made Abdul tick, and what his motives were.

In addition, the story (which covered the 15 years of Karim's service to the Queen) was short on plot.  It was, instead, a string of tableaux in which both featured, but without their relationship developing or maturing.  Furthermore, the portrayal of Queen Victoria as a liberal-thinking woman was, I think, colored more by wishful thinking than historical accuracy.

I did like the film, though.  It is cute, sweet, and at times, funny, with a positive message of tolerance and equality.  It was enjoyable to watch, but the lack of depth to the plot kept it from being fully immersive.  The cast (supporting cast included) were all excellent, as mentioned.  Overall, it's an fun light movie, but not one to rely upon historically.

This movie is available to rent on Amazon.

Keeping Mum

Keeping Mum
2005
4/5 stars

The family of the retiring and oblivious Reverend Goodfellow (Rowan Atkinson) is falling apart: his wife (Kristin Scott Thomas) is lonely and looking for solace with the golf instructor (Patrick Swayze), his daughter is running wild, and his son is being bullied at school.  When the new housekeeper, Grace (Maggie Smith), arrives, things begin to look up for the Goodfellows as problems seem to miraculously disappear.  What they don't realize is that 43 years ago, Grace was responsible for clearing up a problem of her own in a most interesting way.

In this disturbingly entertaining black comedy, the veteran cast display their excellent acting skills. Atkinson is particularly great, and it's hard to find a better actress than Dame Maggie Smith.  The story line was engaging from the beginning and flowed with good timing. The humor is not going to be for everyone, but I often found it laugh-out-loud funny.  Overall, while I can't give it a universal recommendation, it was an enjoyable film for those who appreciate the twisted British wit.