The Movie
A theater critic colleague of mine referred to Julie Taymor as “Miss Myth,” referring to her need to stamp her shingle on whatever well-known story she happens to be telling, be it something as traditional as Shakespeare or as modern as Spider-Man. Her film adaptation of The Tempest is no different, the primary element Taymor plays with being the gender of Prospero, who is referred to here with the feminine name of “Prospera,” and is portrayed by Helen Mirren.
On paper, the decision to change Prospero to a woman seems too easy, the latest idea in a long line of silly ways to re-invent Shakespeare in an effort to keep it fresh. Yet the way Taymor uses this gender switch to add a new layer to the politics of Prospera’s back-story, as well as her relationship with her daughter, makes this decision seem bold, rather than trite, which it would end up being the hands of a lesser talent.
The cast assembled is impressive, and Taymor has fun reinventing the way the characters are presented visually, especially Djimon Hounsou as the tormented slave Caliban, and Ben Whishaw as the mischievous spirit Ariel. Hounsou’s Caliban looks like a creature that crawled from a pit of cooled magma, and Ariel has all the glittery androgyny of a seventies glam-rocker. Russell Brand has caught a lot of flak for his portrayal of the jester Trinculo, however he does what is demanded of the role in that brings a healthy dose of humor to the story’s lighter scenes, which actually turn out to be the movie’s most enjoyable moments. Taymor’s greatest strength as a filmmaker is her precise hand as an innovative visual stylist, and she doesn’t disappoint in The Tempest when it comes to cooking up a visual feast. She has the most fun with Ariel, who is impressively photographed as he breezes along in his various forms, from a friendly whisp to a frightening harpy. In this regard, The Tempest is striking and memorable.
My issue with The Tempest isn’t necessarily with how its presented here, but with the play itself (heresy, I know), which seems to set an elaborate table and ends up serving a finale that’s as satisfying as a Lean Cuisine. There are brilliant things in The Tempest, such Shakespeare’s biting critique of audiences in the form of the characters of Stephano and Trinculo in how they plan to exploit Caliban as a creature with freakshow potential. But the scenes fleshing out the relationship between Prince Ferdinand and Miranda grind the story to a halt, and the climax doesn’t have the impact of many of Shakespeare’s other plays. I’m only intimately familiar with a handful of The Bard’s works, and The Tempest isn’t one of them, because while the story has a rich backstory that appeals to me, I never found where it goes to be particularly interesting. My hat’s off to Taymor & company for creating an interesting adaptation that stuck with me, however the story at heart never really comes together.
The Supplements
Julie Taymor audio commentary: Commentaries are tricky to do well, especially when the person doing it is alone, but Taymor seems to have everything she wants to say outlined and ready to go. Solo commentaries are rarely as interesting as conversational ones (for a perfect commentary, listen to the one with David Mamet and Ricky Jay on Criterion’s release of House of Games), but Taymor is in admirable form. To me, a good audio commentary is the best thing a Blu-ray or DVD can have as a special feature, and this release has got it.
Shakespeare experts audio commentary: This is an “educational” audio commentary with Virginia Vaughan and Jonathan Bate, two knowledgeable academics. This is one of those commentaries where the two participants seem to have been recorded separately, however that seems to serve the purpose of this commentary, which openly declares its intent to educate. Sometimes it falls into the trap of dictating what is going on, but overall it should satisfy people looking to know more about this story and the author behind it.
Raising The Tempest: A making-of documentary that is more in-depth than your standard puff piece tossed in with most new movie releases. Most interesting is the footage from a stage production of The Tempest that Taymor directed in the eighties, and how certain visual ideas carried over and built-on in the film. When they go into how the movie’s impressive effects where photographed simply and practically due to budget constraints, it makes you appreciate the the theater work ethic that Taymor comes from, by achieving art through adversity. Movies in general would be a lot better overall if feature filmmakers were forced to spend time in the theater, as opposed to simply being cherry picked from the orgy of visual masturbation that is the world of commercials and music videos.
Los Angeles Rehearsals: Exclusive to the Blu-ray release, this featurette gives us a fly-on-the-wall view of a day of pre-production acting rehearsals with Taymor, Brand, Hounsou, and Alfred Molina, who plays the scheming, drunken butler Stephano. Molina’s glasses couldn’t seem to stay together at the bridge, as they kept popping off his face whenever he laughed. I suggest he consult the stereotypical nerds of the world for advice on how to correct this.
Russell Brand rehearsal riff: Whether or not you enjoy this depends entirely on whether or not you find Russell Brand funny, but you probably know that already. Frankly I found this bit to be superfluous, but there’s no denying the man is a talented peacock in human form.
“O Mistress Mine” music video: Reeve Carney, who plays Prince Antonio in the film, is also a musician, and performs this song that appears in the movie. Composer Elliot Goldenthal composed the music and directed the video, however neither the song, nor the video did a thing for me, this one’s for the devout.
Available on Blu-ray
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