Twelfth Night (Imogen Stubbs)

(Amazon UK link)

We’re trying to work our way through the DVDs we have acquired over the years but have never watched, as well as re-watching some we haven’t seen for ten years or so. Last night my husband decided on the 1996 production of the Shakespeare play ‘Twelfth Night’. I have no idea where we got hold of this; I suspect a charity shop or similar.

We saw an excellent production of this play nearly twenty years ago, and it had not occurred to me that this would be made as a normal film rather than being a stage adaptation. So I was a little startled when it opened with the inside of a ship, in stormy weather. We saw the twins Viola (Imogen Stubbs) and Sebastian (Steven Mackintosh) singing a a double act, shortly followed by the shipwreck which separated them, before any dialogue begins.

This is followed by what I later realised is scene two of the original script. Viola is devastated at (she assumes) the loss of her brother, and decides that it’s safest to dress up as a man. She plans to seek employment at the court of Orsino (Toby Stephens), the Duke who is in love with a lady called Olivia (Helena Bonham Carter). But Olivia’s father and brother have both died recently, and she has renounced the company of men.

The famous opening line, ‘If music be the food of love, play on…’ then shows Viola, already disguised as the man Cesario, playing for Orsino. After that, the story moves forward (if I recall correctly) in the order of the original play, but with the addition of relevant scenery, interspersed with some songs.

I had assumed at first that the setting was in the 16th century, contemporary with Shakespeare. I was then startled by the use of a bicycle in one of the early scenes, something that was not invented until much later. So I adjusted my time-frame, and realised it was set as if in the late 19th or even early 20th century.

It always takes me a few minutes for me to get into Shakespearean dialogue, but it wasn’t too difficult, and I was soon absorbed in the story. The overall plot is well-known: Orsino loves Olivia, but she falls in love with the supposed Cesario who is really Viola. Viola herself then falls in love with Orsino.

There’s a fair bit of comedy inherent in this, but extra comic relief is provided by the drunken Sir Toby (Mel Smith), and the fool Feste (quite unlike any Feste I have previously seen or imagined, brilliantly played by Ben Kingsley). There’s also the pompous Malvolio (Nigel Hawthorne) who has both a comic and a poignant part to play.

I was amazed at how alike Viola and Sebastian looked, and thought they must be close relatives, only to discover later that the two actors are unconnected. Imogen Stubbs is a credible Cesario, with quite a bit of low-key humour in the way she moves, and facial expressions. Helena Bonham Carter is excellent as Olivia, and Nigel Hawthorne as Malvolio was inspired casting, in my view.

It’s not laugh-aloud comedy for the most part, and is quite bawdy in places, but I’ve always liked ‘Twelfth Night’, and thought this an extremely good adaptation. It’s rated U in the UK, PG in the US. Shakespeare’s plays have quite a bit of innuendo and this play has its share, but younger children wouldn’t get them. I doubt if anyone below the age of about eleven or twelve would be particularly interested anyway.

However this would be an excellent version for secondary/high school or university students studying this play, to see realistic backgrounds and scenery, and to see far better the context (albeit a few centuries too late).

Recommended to anyone who would like to see something a bit different.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews

Penelope (Christina Ricci)

(Amazon UK link)

I have no idea why Amazon recommended this particular DVD to me, unless it was that I had previously bought something featuring Reese Witherspoon. Not that she is a main character in ‘Penelope’. Whatever the reason, I liked the sound of the blurb and the reviews were good, so it went on my wishlist and I was given it for Christmas. We decided to watch it last night.

The opening scenes make it clear that this is a modern fairy-tale. The film was made in 2006, and the story was contemporary to that time. However it started some generations back, when an upper class 'blue-blooded' man fell in love with a serving maid, but his family did not allow her to marry him. The maid’s mother, who was a witch, cursed the family: the first daughter born to them would have the face of a pig. The curse would only be broken when someone ‘of her kind’ loved her for herself. It felt as if it should have been made in the UK, where 'old blood' and this kind of class snobbery is (or was) more common than the US, where it is set.

No daughters were born to the family over many decades, until Penelope (Christina Ricci) arrived. Her parents brought her up in a very isolated way, presumably educated at home but with every advantage which money could bring. We meet her when she is in her late teens, and her mother has started trying to attract suitors. She wants her daughter to get married as soon as possible, to someone who will presumably break the curse.

Since Penelope does not go out, young man ‘of her kind’ are invited to the mansion, where they speak to her without seeing her, at first. Unfortunately, when they finally see her face, they are so shocked that they escape as fast as they can, signing a nondisclosure agreement so that nobody else knows what the problem is.

It’s quite a fast-moving film, with some humour in places, and a great deal of action. There are journalists, and a suitor who makes friends with Penelope before seeing her, and isn’t repulsed by her face, but still insists he cannot marry her. Eventually, covering her face with a scarf, she runs away from home…

There’s a love story running through the latter part of the film, but it’s very low-key. The story is really about finding acceptance; about personality being far more important than looks. Essentially it’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in reverse. I was totally caught up in the storyline and worried for a while that Penelope might marry the wrong man. I wasn’t expecting some of the ending but it all worked well, and was a very satisfactory film overall.

The casting is excellent, with appropriate amounts of melodrama and over-acting from Penelope's mother and a few other caricatured people. Reese Witherspoon doesn't actually appear until about half-way through the film, and portrays rather a different character from her normal types.

The rating is U (G in the US) and I think that’s appropriate. Other than a mildly tense scene at the beginning, and an innuendo that would go over most young children’s heads, it’s free of anything that might upset or offend anyone. Very little bad language, as far as I recall; no scenes of intimacy; no violence - other than a few broken windows. It’s a film I’m going to recommend to three young friends of mine, aged between twelve and seven.

Highly recommended for anyone wanting a light, somewhat surreal but undemanding and enjoyable evening's viewing.

There's a short 'extra' on the DVD with a few brief interviews, and explanation of how Penelope's pig face was made.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews

A Christmas Carol (Patrick Stewart)

(Amazon UK link)

While not a fan of Dickens in general, I have always liked the story of ‘A Christmas Carol’. So I was pleased to be given this movie version of the story some time ago. We decided to keep it for December, and watched it a couple of days before Christmas.

This version of 'A Christmas Carol' stars Patrick Stewart, who is probably best-known for his role as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. It’s a tribute to his acting that he made an extremely good Scrooge, but I did rather wish he had been given a wig.

I could easily believe in him as the ultimate miser in the scenes in his hat, or even his night-cap. But when his head was bare - and bald - he somehow looked more like the captain of the Enterprise (and I’m no Trekkie) than Dickens’ character.

Still, it’s a minor gripe. My only other criticism is that some of the special effects looked extremely dated; I would have guessed that it had been made in the 1980s. Still, the film is ten years old and computer graphic effects have improved enormously since 1999.

I haven’t read the book for some years, but from what I recall this film version was pretty true to the book. We both thought that it worked well; it certainly kept our interest, and on the whole we enjoyed it. A nice start to Christmas!

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews