Synopsis
Exiled to a magical island, the sorceress Prospera conjures up a storm that shipwrecks her enemies, and then unleashes her powers for revenge.
Julie Taymor takes a Shakespeare classic, again, and turns it into a spectacle, which isn’t a bad thing. Taymor has never been shy about how she translates her vision to screen. In 1999, Taymor dove head first into a very ambitious, colorful and loud version of one of Shakespeare’s earlier works “Titus Andronicus”. She weaved together a mixture of old time era flavor into a new mix of lavish costumes and and a more modern feel, but never bending on Shakespeare’s original dialogue. In 2007, Taymor created an entire love story from Beatles songs, giving a unique flavor and flow to song and story. So, in 2010 it’s no surprise that she took a hold of “The Tempest” and gave it a bit more pizazz and spectacle along with a modern feel.
Starting off with the lead character, Prospera (played by Helen Mirren) — who is usually played by a man and called Prospero, this was Taymor’s first contribution to her own vision of what is arguably one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. By making this simple adjustment in the cast, Taymor changed the relationship of this spiteful character with the play’s daughter, Miranda (played by Felicity Jones). Instead of a disconnected father/daughter feel to the two players, the use of a woman in the role magnifies the protective relationship between mother and daughter. It also creates a more powerful reason for Prospera to seek revenge on the wrongdoers of her past, who have conveniently found their way to her island’s shore. Shakespearean purist might consider this a blasphemous change, but the movie keeps to the original dialogue of the play, so gender was the only thing adjusted. This play goes on all across the country year in and year out, so credit Taymor for the bold (and successful) move to change it up a bit. It felt like it was a seamless change, so it really doesn’t affect the story very much.
With that said, let’s talk about the acting. Helen Mirren is and will always be one of the finest actors that has graced a stage, television set or film set. In The Tempest, she brings fire and passion into the role of Prospera. She is unforgiving to those who have wronged or failed her in the film, and she doesn’t miss a beat in letting them know that. Opposite of her, is the more innocent Felicity Jones, who brings a calming, soothing relief to those that Prospera scorns. She plays Miranda really well, and is a perfect onscreen opposite to Mirren’s Prospera. Much like Mirren, Jones doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to getting the play right.
As for the antagonists, Chris Cooper plays a very sinful, evil Antonio. I’m not sure about how you all feel, but if Chris Cooper spoke in a British accent for the rest of his life I would be satisfied with that; the man nails it. His onscreen presence just screams ‘This guy is a major a-hole’, which works out quite well as he plays the villain. Next to him, and one who is always good in Shakespearean pieces, is Alan Cumming as Sebastian. His expressive nature and full understanding of the material shines through as he plays out the role of Sebastian quite well. Easily manipulative and weak as a worm, Cumming knows exactly who Sebastian is suppose to be and he doesn’t disappoint.
Russell Brand as Trinculo and Alfred Molina as Stephano was completely out of left field… surprisingly they work well together. Molina’s Stephano constantly abuses and puts down the weaker, yet funny, Trinculo. The back and forth nature of the play between the two characters is priceless when you see both actors in full form. Brand was born for this goofy role. His expressions and responses to Stephano are solid and, most of all, believable. This is one of the few movies I’ve actually enjoyed seeing Brand in, which is saying a lot.
Other players that should be commended for their roles in the film include Djimon Hounsou as the bitter, vengeful Caliban. His hate and rage fueled by Mirren’s Prospera seem genuine, though a little over the top on occasion. He still brings the goods, though, when he needs it. Opposite of him is Prospera’s servant Ariel, played by Ben Whishaw. Whishaw’s Ariel is potentially the creepiest person on the island. He’s neither man or woman, but he’s powerful and everywhere. Taymor does a great job in manipulating his appearances and making sure everyone knows he’s a powerful spirit, but a loyal servant. He’s fun, and scary, to watch onscreen.
The big plus of getting all these actors together for this film is their talents and full understanding of the roles (even Brand) help to make the story easy to follow for those who don’t love Shakespeare. My wife, who usually gives up on Shakespeare based films, was glued to The Tempest. Her first comment about the film once it was over (the first time) was that the actors made the dialogue easy to follow. With accurate expressions, and visual connotations, the play’s script seemed to flow easier thanks to the actors’ gifts for physical translation. For example, when you see that Prospera is holding something over Ariel’s head in exchange for his powerful services; you know what is going on through Mirren’s expressive tones that change from loving (when Ariel tells her that he took care of business) and then to rage (as Ariel reminds her that she promised him freedom). Again, things like this are easy to pick up on because the right cast plays the respective roles they needed to play. Taymor’s always had a talent for picking the right folks in her movies, and The Tempest is no different.
So what’s a minus on the film? Well, the film does have its over the top moments. It can be visually and musically over the top, which disrupts the flow of the story a bit. I think Taymor is just doing what she always does with her films, but for some reason it was just a bit more noticeable than usual. Other than this, I think she did a great job with putting together a unique vision of Shakespeare’s opus. There’s nothing wrong with jumping off the tracks once in a while to go your own path; Taymor does this without regrets or apologies, and rightfully so.
In the end, I still like this film, though I think she did a better job on Titus.
As for the Blu-ray portion of the release, it benefited from Taymor’s style. Colorful, loud and just awesome in some places, the film looks great in HD. What’s almost as unique as Taymor’s vision of the original play is how the actors were made up (as in make-up). Normally when people have loads of make-up on for their role, like Djimon Hounsou’s Caliban, it comes out looking extremely fake when translated to high-def. This time around, the make-up looked good, the scenes were sharp and crisp, and most of all there was no grain or artifacts in the film. You get a bright, sometimes dark, color palette that will tantalize your senses. The film has a lot of yellow, black and whites in it that all look very solid when shown in HD.
With that said, I’m not sure I would love to have this soundtrack. The music is a bit obnoxious in some places. You’ll get a taste of it when the ship is sinking at the beginning of the film. It sounds like a bad guitar solo from the 80s. You’ll get audio moments like this throughout the film. Mastered in 5.1 Dolby Digital, you’ll reach for the remote to bring down the music when it calls for it. It’s not all bad, but you’ll find the obnoxiously loud moments pretty darn easily. On the flip side to that coin, the sound effects are spot on. Prepare to ‘jump’ in some areas.
Finally, here’s what you’re looking at in terms of special features:
– Raising The Tempest
– Julie Taymor Audio Commentary
– Annotated Shakespeare
– “O Mistress Mine” Music Video
– Russell Brand Rehearsal Riff
– Los Angeles Rehearsal
These features are pretty solid, sans the music video. The audio commentary from Taymor is gold, as is the documentary called ‘Raising The Tempest’. You get some really rich insight on the production and Taymor’s thoughts about her vision. The rehearsal features are good, and the annotated shakespeare option is quite solid. All in all, the features really compliment the film, which is always good.