Maria played by Imelda Staunton is a servant to Olivia. She is quite spiteful towards Malvolio, the trick is her idea. She sets the trap in order to teach Malvolio a lesson.
Malvolio played by Nigel Hawthorne is incredibly self-obsessed and on finding the letter planted by Maria thinks it’s only too obvious that Olivia should be in love with him. His arrogance makes him target for comedy in the play. His dignity is destroyed when he is imprisoned for madness and finds out that he was tricked and mocked by Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Maria, who in his mind compared to him are mere fools.
Mel Smith plays a drunken Sir Toby Belch. There are very few scenes in the film in which he is not drunk. Sir Toby is represented as a bumbling oaf, living off his niece’s fortune. Richard E. Grants Sir Andrew Aguecheek is a stupid drunk. He is Sir Toby’s friend and so he thinks a perfect suitor for Olivia. In appearance he is completely the opposite of Sir Toby, making them the classic comedy double act.
Orsino is a Count seeking the hand of Olivia, He sends Cesario constantly with messages of his undying love not realising that in doing this Olivia is falling for Cesario, he does not give up until he realises Cesario is actually Viola and then it seems he never really wanted Olivia and he falls for Viola.
The Merchant of Venice was made in 2004 and directed by Michael Radford. The Merchant of Venice is the most produced play on stage, but this was the first successful attempt of making a film of it. It was filmed on location in Venice with a few scenes also filmed in Luxembourg. The music used in The Merchant of Venice is mainly vocal and both scared and secular. It is quite reminiscent of the time and setting. The Merchant of Venice also uses diegetic and non-diegetic music in the opening scene, the music is sung by the Christians preaching from a boat on the canal.
Shylock played by Al Pacino is represented as a bit of vicious character in mercilessly demanding his pound of flesh promised by Antonio in exchange for money and intending to take it. He is as a Jew oppressed by the Venetian Christians and the enemy of Antonio who has mistreated Shylock in the past. The bond which Shylock opens with Antonio is his revenge for his mistreatment by the Christians which Antonio represents.
‘Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, can be played as a wolfish villain, sadistically lusting for the blood of a Christian he hates. Or he can be interpreted as dignified symbol of an oppressed people, intellectually and morally superior to the Christians who taunt and abuse them.’ (Patrick Stewart, 1985)
Patrick Stewart who played Shylock for the RSC in 1979 wanted to take the character out of the stereotype and used the script to make him a witty character. Shylock I believe is an incredibly dark character and Al Pacino is perfect for this role in that sense. He is bitter at the treatment of himself and his fellow Jews and means to take this out on Antonio. The supposed anti-Semitism in the play was quite clear in the film more so than in other plays, at the beginning we are shown a Jewish moneylender being thrown into the canal. Other actors of Shylock have stated that the ‘alleged anti-Semitism … is a distraction’ from Shylock as a universal character. (Patrick Stewart, 1984) but his ‘Jewishness’ is crucial in his downfall as he is made to give up his religion which in way defines him (David Suchet, 1984).
The representation of Antonio played by Jeremy Irons in the film is unclear, he could be represented as a brave character, but then this could also be seen and thoughtlessness or stupidity, not taking Shylock seriously when promising the pound of flesh but also intending to honour the bond and pay the pound of flesh. He appears agitated and genuinely frightened during the trial and when Shylock intends to take the pound of flesh before Portia disguised as the doctor cuts in.
Jessica played by Zuleikha Robinson is represented as a young, naïve, beautiful girl who leaves her father for the love of a Christian. Shylock’s love for his daughter is obvious in the film with the use of what is known as the sixth scene Shylock only appears in five scenes in the original text but some directors including Radford have added a sixth scene after Act 2, Scene 6 to portray Shylocks reaction to his desertion by his daughter, this was shown in the film by simply showing Shylock returning to an empty house and breaking down in tears. It is easy to feel sorry for him when Jessica robs and leaves him for those who he hates most of all: the Christians.
Portia played by Lynn Collins is represented as a beautiful and intelligent girl shown by her idea for saving Antonio’s life and also respects her father’s final wish by carrying through his intended method of choosing the right husband for her. Michael Radford said of his casting of Lynn Collins;
‘I needed somebody young to play Portia because this is a realistic movie and usually Portia is played by a mature actress because it’s a difficult role.’ (Michael Radford, 2004).
Lynn Collins was 24 when she played Portia in Michael Radford’s film, whereas Sinead Cusack who played Portia in 1981 for the RSC was 33 at the time, an age difference of almost ten years proves this quote from Michael Radford. I agree that Portia is meant to be a young woman and believe his casting if Lynn Collins was perfect.
Bassanio played by Joseph Fiennes is represented as good man in his loyalty to Antonio but dubious in his love for Portia although having caught her attention and won her hand, he does give away her ring, unknowingly to her and states again, unknowingly to her that he loves Antonio more than her. He owes a lot of money to Antonio and it is almost in way his fault that Antonio gets himself into the situation of having to pay a pound of flesh to Shylock.
Both plays explore the use of girls dressed as boys. Portia as the doctor during the trial and Viola as Cesario through most of the play. This may be mainly for comedy value, especially in The Merchant of Venice as Bassanio fails to recognise his own wife. This idea would be particularly comedic on an Elizabethan stage as female parts were played by boys, so it would be a boy, playing a girl, playing a boy. This creates a common comic plot of mistaken identity which dominates the plot in Twelfth Night being the fuel for everything in the play, Olivia falling in love with Cesario who is effectively a girl and Sebastian ending up married to a complete stranger. This despite bringing about the end of the play, Shylocks downfall and saving Antonio’s life is more of a sub-plot in The Merchant of Venice it is way for Portia to save her husbands beloved friend but also to test his loyalty to her by under disguise requesting the ring that he promised to keep.
The language used in both plays is conventionally Shakespearean but the language in The Merchant of Venice tends to be a little more complicated than in Twelfth Night. This may make Twelfth night more appealing to a modern audience as the story is easier to understand and it is easier to relate to comedy of this kind than a story like The Merchant of Venice.
The use of making Shakespeare into films is trying to make it appeal to a wider audience. Shakespeare in schools is collectively seen by students as a negative thing, 21st Century children are not interested in the workings of a man who died almost 400 years ago. Children and even some adults do not like reading Shakespeare especially those who were made to at school, many people these days would not engage with Shakespeare. They struggle with the language and do not understand the setting and story. The films can be used in schools to help those studying the play see it how it was meant to be and they can construct meaning in Shakespeare’s text from what they are seeing on the screen. The majority of people who would deliberately go and see this film may be Shakespeare fans but it is still easily accessible to those who may not be as familiar with Shakespeare.
In my opinion Twelfth Night would appeal to more people because it is a comedy, it is quite light and easy-going, the story is easy to understand and the characters are not complex. The setting is beautiful, on the coast of Cornwall and the comedy is effortless, whereas The Merchant of Venice is more dark and sinister, with complex characters and historical views affecting the storyline. The oppression of the Jews has strong reverberations for today’s audience because of the holocaust, possibly making it a less attractive film for many, but it would still attract an audience through the use of famous Hollywood actors; Jeremy Irons and Al Pacino.
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Bibliography
Barton, J. (1984) RSC in Playing Shakespeare London: Methulen London Ltd
Brockbank, P. (1985) Players of Shakespeare Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Jackson, R., Smallwood, R. (1993) Players of Shakespeare 3 Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
