"Much Ado About Nothing" analyse how effectively the director, Kenneth Branagh, uses a variety of film techniques to introduce to the audience the themes, plots and characters of Shakespeare's play.
English-Media Coursework
Through a close examination of the opening sequence of the film, "Much Ado About Nothing", analyse how effectively the director, Kenneth Branagh, uses a variety of film techniques to introduce to the audience the themes, plots and characters of Shakespeare's play.
The director successfully introduces the play to the audience, and manages to show all the characters in the opening scene, even though they are not introduced until later in the play. The director skillfully manages to make what is essentially a play to be performed on stage, into a film. The beginning draws you into the world that the characters live in and you want to find out more about this very lively, colourful and blissful existence.
The film begins with white words on a black screen, with the words being read out by a woman (Beatrice, we find out) and a lute playing a melody in the background. The lute starts playing chords as the poem progresses. The poem is the one sung by the poet, Balthasar, in the middle of the play. This could be risky move, as it might not keep the modern audience interested in the film. You would prefer action and adventure at the beginning to pull you into the story, but there isn't any here until halfway into the film. I think Branagh wanted to put the poem in because, when you've read and understood the play, you'll see that it fits in with what happens in it. It's a kind of premonition of things to come. But the poem, strangely, fits quite well with the beginning, with the idyllic setting and relaxed atmosphere of the picnic. Many important members are present at this meeting, and this is a good way of introducing several characters.
The scene starts with an idealistic painting that was done by Leonato of the surrounding landscape. As this is a comedy, this is quite appropriate, as Shakespeare's comedies are set in an idealistic world. The camera then shows us the real, naturalistic, landscape, with hills and rolling plains and old villas. Beatrice is still reading the poem, while the camera panning, showing us who is taking part in the picnic. Then we see Beatrice, who is sitting in a tree and is very tanned. This is Branagh's interpretation of her character, showing us that she is independent, sitting ...
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The scene starts with an idealistic painting that was done by Leonato of the surrounding landscape. As this is a comedy, this is quite appropriate, as Shakespeare's comedies are set in an idealistic world. The camera then shows us the real, naturalistic, landscape, with hills and rolling plains and old villas. Beatrice is still reading the poem, while the camera panning, showing us who is taking part in the picnic. Then we see Beatrice, who is sitting in a tree and is very tanned. This is Branagh's interpretation of her character, showing us that she is independent, sitting away from everyone else. The scene and the atmosphere created is of happiness and optimism, like an average Shakespeare comedy.
When the messenger's horse arrives, there is suddenly a sense of urgency in the air, as if there has been a tragedy. The horse arriving very fast, and the breathlessness of the messenger, conveys this. There is an entire orchestra in the background, playing fast music. Everyone is suddenly worried and anxious, shown by the camera panning across the entire campground and showing us everyone's face. When the messenger delivers his message, everyone is relieved and happy again. The music stops when Leonato reads out the message, to make the audience have fewer things to distract them. One of the sub-plots is hinted to us, when Leonato mentions Claudio, and the camera cuts between Leonato and Hero, who looks bashful. Now we know that Hero in love with Claudio, shown to us by Hero looking at the ground at Claudio's name. Another sub-plot is revealed when Beatrice asks about Benedick, and insults him in front of everyone. They're only friendly jests, and here we know about the rivalry between Beatrice and Benedick. And Beatrice's independence is again shown when she stands up for herself to both Leonato, her uncle, and the messenger. Her boldness and quick thinking, with her feeding the messenger a grape and her witty remarks are also obvious.
When they see the horses arriving over the hill, there is, again, a great sense of urgency, with all the men and women rushing off to get ready. This is when you get to see most of the main male characters arriving on horseback from the war. There is another bout of strong, urgent music, and you can see both sides in slow motion. This is very effective, as it shows you the men and women individually. The camera focuses on different things, like the hooves of the horses and people running. This gives us the impression that things seem slower because they're excited. It shows the women excited because the men have come back from the war. The music then changes to martial, when the men are the only ones shown, all on horseback. It shows us all the important characters from the play itself, focusing on the company standard, hooves and then the men themselves.
When the men and women are getting bathed and dressed, there is a bit of "innocent fun", with "tastefully done" nudity. This might have been put in to keep people interested and is innocuous. There is also a bit of comedy inserted with Margaret powdering herself, showing her character to be very vain and self-absorbed. Again, there is the hurrying music, and the camera focuses on each important character in turn, showing Beatrice just adjusting her hair, a hint telling us that she doesn't care about her looks. Stirring music then starts playing in the background as Don Pedro, Don John and other main characters march into the villa. The men are shown in formation, showing us that they are soldiers and men of strict discipline. The camera cuts between the men and the women in the upstairs windows, as they hurry down to meet the men in the courtyard. The camera gradually moves down the villa, showing more women peeking out of windows. At this point, you notice the subtle differences between the men. Don Pedro's men are dressed in dark blue, while Don John's in black. This tells us that the two sides are similar, but not the same as each other. And we also see the women and men living in the villa come to stand opposite the soldiers in the courtyard, with subtle hints again. Hero stands opposite Claudio, and Don Pedro opposite Leonato.
The music switches to soothing, cheerful music, relaxes you, as the viewer, and tells us of a celebratory atmosphere. More hints are given to us about plots, where Claudio glances at something and smiles, and the camera cuts to Hero, who looks down and blushes. This is another hint provided to us at a subconscious level that Hero and Claudio are in love.
When Benedick starts a battle of wits with Beatrice, you can see the concentration of everyone else around them. Everyone looks at them, as if this is something that is akin to street theatre, as if it's something to watch. The camera cuts between the two of them very fast, giving us a sense of awe at the speed these two think up remarks. At the end of this, after everyone's finished laughing, the music, which had stopped at the beginning of the joust, starts again, but morosely, as everyone notices Don John. Everyone is quiet, as Leonato approaches him, while in the background, a violin plays sad music, as if something has happened to Don John, and there is cause for grief. Leonato speaks in a hushed voice, as does Don John, who also stutters when he speaks, giving us a feeling that he is slightly sinister. Don John stands off to one side, showing us that he is a loner and even stands apart from his friends and his brother, telling us that there is hatred between the two. After this bit, everyone forgets about him and walks off, all happy. Bubbly music in the background gives us a heightened sense that this is like a party.
As you can see, Branagh has successfully made the play into a movie without a hitch. He uses a variety of filming techniques unavailable to those on stage, and used them well to create and introduce likeable characters. He has managed, in about 10 to 15 minutes, most of the plot details, characters and themes of the play, "Much Ado About Nothing".
Jay Kulkarni 10D English Media Study Page 1 of 3
