Much Ado About Nothing

Directed by: Joss Whedon

Written by: William Shakespeare (play); Joss Whedon (screenplay)










It's tough to do a modernized version of Shakespeare. Really tough. Most fall flat (see Ethan Hawke's "Hamlet") while those that don't totally fail are forced to rely on stylistic gimmicks (Baz Lurhrmann). Most don't even try to really modernize, but try exotic time periods and locations (Sir Kenneth Branagh).

Joss Whedon's "Much Ado About Nothing" succeeds. It's good.

I'm not sure what else to say except that Whedon's adaptation feels natural and organic. It doesn't go over-the-top. The choice to shoot in black-and-white film is a bit of a stretch at first, but quickly is forgotten and helps with the simple, straight-forward feel of the movie.

What surprised me most was the way the actors, especially character actors such as Nathan Fillion, manage to take total control of the Shakespearean language and make it sound totally natural. None of the conversations felt forced or over-wrought.

To be honest, it's been a long time (ten years or more) since I've read the original Shakespeare, so it's tough for me to judge the how much of the source material was scratched and molded to fit Whedon's vision. In any case, it worked.