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There are times when a Shakespeare adaptation hits you over the head like a brick. Rather it's due to epic scale or over-the-top presentation; some directors love to push Shakespeare to its limits. Nowhere is this more evident than in today's subject, The Tempest, a film adaptation from the same director as a popular stage adaptation, Julie Taymore; a director who can best be described as a broken fire hydrant bursting with energy and creativity...most of the time.
With that, allow me to give you a brief introduction to the woman herself, Julie Taymor.
An accomplished artist and theater director, Julie Taymor gained international acclaim for her riveting and fantastical Broadway adaptation of Disney's animated classic, The Lion King. Julie Taymor brought the beloved Disney film to life, using striking costume designs and elaborate on-stage puppet creations. Later on, she would try (and sadly fail) to bring that same level of grand theatrics to another famous property with Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Resulting in one of the most expensive and unfortunate failures in Broadway history. Not to mention the many, many trips to the emergency room for injured Spider-Men.
Although Julie Taymor tends to be most comfortable working on stage productions, she has occasionally tackled movies. Before making The Tempest, she experimented with another Shakespeare play, Titus, starring Anthony Hopkins and Alan Cumming. I have not yet seen it, but don't worry, I shall do so before the month is over.
SOON...
Anyway, whatever else can be said about Julie Taymor as a director, what should always be remembered is that not only does she appreciate Shakespeare, she understands it better than anyone else working on Broadway. Like many of her peers, she understands how simple Shakespeare truly is and uses that to her advantage with her presentation.
The Tempest is loaded with awesome visuals and breathtaking realizations. It's probably one of the few times when her extreme stage presentation style fits the play. Because The Tempest is one of Shakespeare's few magic-heavy stories, it allows Julie Taymor to play with her style and present Shakespeare in an energetic and entertaining-as-hell fashion.
Of course, no Shakespeare production, film or stage, is worth its salt unless it's got a great cast of talented actors who can handle the material. As you might expect, The Tempest is chock-full of wonderful actors. Like anything else she's in, Helen Mirren has the lead role of Prospero (renamed Prospera for the film) and dominates her part with conviction and enthusiasm. It also features a surprisingly decent performance from Russel Brand, who also has incredible chemistry with Alfred Molina.
Probably the best performance in the film, by far, has to be Djimon Hounsou as Caliban, Prospera's slave. Not only did he likely have the greatest challenge of performing the whole show wearing nothing more than a loincloth (for understandable reasons), but despite English not being his first language, he delivers every line of dialogue with clarity and deep emotional resonance. He is a genuine wonder to behold.
Now, as much as I do like and appreciate this film, it's not my favorite Shakespeare film. While I enjoy Julie Taymor's style on stage, and I admit that this film was probably the best use of it, I sometimes find it a bit distracting. There are occasional moments when the style seems to overtake the story. Granted, it's not as bad as, say, when Tim Burton does it, but it still happens from time to time. There are moments when I find myself saying, "I feel like this would make more sense on stage than it does on film" whenever I watch any film by Julie Taymor. This, in and of itself, is not a bad thing; it's just a slight notch against my personal preferences.
I do still recommend it as a fantastic and entertaining piece. If you need something classical and a little insane, this is a perfect choice.
Give it a shot.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
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