As You Like It

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Sidney B "As You Like It" is supposed to be a comedy, but you'd never know it from this production. You can't fault Branagh & company for effort and love of Shakespeare, but their approach to this play seems more appropriate to something like "Macbeth". The original play is a silly crowd-pleaser with wit and clever wordplay. All that is drowned out in heavy emoting, violence, sturm und drang. It's supposed to be fun. I barely cracked a smile at this film version. And what's the deal with moving it from the pastoral forests of Arden to feudal Japan??? Sorry, Ken -- this one is a misfire. Props to Dallas Bryce Howard as a luminous Rosalind, and to Alfred Molina as Touchstone -- he's the only one in the cast who seems to know which lines are supposed to be humorous and why. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 12/14/24 Full Review weezah kenneth branagh attempts to make kurosawa by creating a shakespeare adaptation in japan. epic fail! Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/29/24 Full Review Matthew B There is a line in an earlier Kenneth Branagh movie, A Midwinter's Tale, also known as In the Bleak Midwinter. The hero is putting on a performance of Hamlet for Christmas. As he explains his plans to his sister, he exclaims that of course it would be absurd to set the play in the seventeenth century, even though that was the age in which the play was written. I sometimes wish that Branagh had paid more attention to the gently satirical humour implied in this line. Perhaps the most bizarre setting of all was the one that Branagh chose for the last of his Shakespeare adaptations (at the time of writing). The location of Branagh's version of As You Like It is so obscure that he is obliged to provide an explanation at the beginning of the film since nobody on earth could have guessed from the movie itself. The action takes place in 19th Century Japan at a time when English traders lived in enclaves near ports. There are a few points to say in Branagh's defence. Shakespeare's play is itself somewhat vague about its setting. Most of the story is set in the Forest of Arden, but goodness knows where this is. The characters have English, Italian and French names. This capacious wood can support a clan of hunting courtiers, as well as farmland and dwellings. It contains snakes and a lion. It certainly resembles no wood that one might find in Europe. Branagh is also able to use the setting to great advantage. It adds colour to the action. We see many Japanese trappings –a Geisha girl, Kabuki theatre, Sumo wrestling. Tai Chi, Ninjas and so on. Hairstyles, clothing, paper fans and décor are in the Japanese style, complete with the sliding doors and low seats that we often see in movies made in Japan. Still these are little more than frills, and do not add meaning to the play itself. The setting is irrelevant to the storyline. Indeed some have accused Branagh of exoticism – the reduction of another culture to a sense of otherness apart from western culture. Certainly it is less respectful for Japan than it first appears. The film was not made on location, but shot in Wakehurst Place. It contains few characters or actors who are actually Japanese, and some of these behave in a manner that is subservient to the western characters. Then again, the happiness of the characters and the spirited performances by the actors is infectious, and I find myself smiling when I watch them. In As You Like It, the characters find solace in love and friendship, but not in family. The Forest of Arden represents a place of escape from the horrors of court life. Life in the town is a dangerous place, and the film starts on a dark note with Duke Frederick's ninjas murdering Duke Senior's guards as he takes over the area. I have seen the film criticised for its failure to play up the farcical elements and add a little more pace to the comedy. However I think that Branagh has understood the nature of Shakespeare's play better than his critics. This is a softer pastoral work, and that is the effect that Branagh goes for. Arden is a place for idle pleasures where the characters re-charge before returning to their urban responsibilities. As You Like It may be flawed, but somehow the flaws do not matter. Whatever Branagh's misjudgements, his film conveys the feel and tone of Shakespeare's play better than anyone else has so far done on screen. If you're interested, I wrote a fuller appreciation of the film on my blog page: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2019/10/11/as-you-like-it-2006/ Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 07/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Director Kenneth Branagh's bizarre decision to set this play, not in early 1600s England (or France -- Shakespeare did not make this clear), but in 1800's Japan (!) almost scuttled this adaptation for me. But it did not, as the setting ultimately did not matter, and the actors were just so winning. In particular, Bryce Dallas Howard as Rosalind, and Kevin Kline as Jaques shone in a cast where every actor seem to hoist up their kimonos and say, "This time it's up to us!" I was perilously close to turning this off after about 20 minutes, and am thankful I did not. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member It was a unique take on one of Shakespeare's classics. I enjoyed the change in setting and how the story flowed seamlessly into the environment. The actors and I think Bryce Dallas Howard did fantastic as Rosiland. The words felt natural coming from their mouths. They brought the comedy and helped newbies understand what was happening. I think the thing that stood out most was the costume design. All of the outfits were gorgeous and felt accurate to the world. This version of As You Like It has to be my favorite. I would highly recommend it. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Kenneth Branagh is a god, but even he struggles to make this less than brilliant play. Actors are good but play is dull. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Read all reviews

As You Like It

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