Like an extended Rightmove
video we get to canter around Joss Whedon’s house in the company of the lovelorn
and love-struck as they connive, collude and crawl around every crevice. And
what a delight it is. Whedon has captured the very heart of the populist
and playfulness of Shakespeare in this adaptation of slight tale where all is
fair in love and post-war.
The return to Chateau Whedon
of a triumphant Don Pedro and his cabal along with his defeated brother Don
John is the starting point for romance and treachery. Played out as an ensemble
piece on one set this could have been stagey but Whedon varies camera angles
and lighting to frame the energy and movement of an enthused cast. Like the best
Woody Allen each character is introduced and defined quickly by their words and
mannerisms. The richness of language ensures the actors enunciate; but nothing
is forced. There is however a physicality across all the performances that
enhances both the comedy and the pathos.
When done well, and despite
the plot contrivances that, like Dickens, allows all the strands to be drawn
together in a big fluffy bow, Shakespeare’s writing still has the power to tell
stories that are both simple yet expose the complexities and inconsistencies of
human emotion. When a cast and director ‘get it’ and play along the result can
be fantastic. For all its lack of grandeur and scope this Much Ado hits the
buttons so lacking in modern romantic comedies – a group of people you like,
root for and understand the motivation for their actions. It’s an enormously
enjoyable adaptation.
9/10
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