Love's Labour's Lost (2000) REVISIT

I've said it before and I've said it again, I love Shakespeare adaptations which reinvent and reinterpret the plays in investive ways. The idea of making a 40s style musical out of Love's Labour's Lost is, to my mind, a fabulous idea. Branagh makes a noble attempt at pulling off this experiment as his 2000 film is mostly a joy even if there are parts which are clunkier than others.

Branagh captures the spirit of the genre in the opening credits, a still shot of velvet with the cast imposed overtop. Like a true film fan he is making a love letter to the era. He fades into his framing sequence, the "newsreal" style to set up his story and move it along. And then his perfect capturing of the genre gels with his sets, costumes, and classic American songbook playlist. This is best summed up in the scene where he effortless merges Shakespeare's script into the lyrics of Cheek to Cheek leading into one of the film's most classic dance sequences. This whole part of the experiment works so wonderfully I watch it with a silly grin on my face.

But there are gaffs which take me out of this film. Some of the casting casting choices don't quite work. Silverstone doesn't have the acting or singing or dancing ability to pull off her role. And Spall hams up his role as Don Armodo to the point I can't take it. But perhaps the latter isn't the casting but Branagh's stylistic choice to go full Brit in the absurd humour. It's not just Spall, Lane and Lillard are also guilty of taking the humour into the most falldown slapstick, random funny voices, gross noises, scenery chewing, etc. This is a stylistic choice that just doesn't work for me. I always prefer my humour dry and witty. So as the film focuses on the silly sideplots it loses me, until it gets back to it's classics and romance.

But the film continues to pull me back, like with it's surprisingly racy Let's Face the Music and Dance number. It's an interesting choice to go from the rather chaste 40s romantic style to something as erotic as this scene but it fits as it is about deception and subterfuge. Branagh's ability to capture both the Shakespeare and the classic musical vibe is so impressive that it makes the film's awkward missteps even more glaring.

Finally I wasn't sure about the ending. One of the strengths of this play is how the film doesn't end with the traditional happy ending, the couples don't end up together. Here the film implies a happy ending, and eventual reuniting of lovers. And for that makes the rest of the story less poignant. I mean the title is Lost, right?

But, despite all that, the colour and the pageantry of this film wins me over each time. Lane saves himself with his final number as does the film. And I applaud.

Love's Labour's Lost
Starring: Alicia Silverstone, Alessandro Nivola, Kenneth Branagh, Nathan Lane, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Lillad, Carmen Ejogo, Natasha McElhone, Adrian Lester, Timothy Spall
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writers: William Shakespeare, Kenneth Branagh