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ink_splotchSo. I am more-or-less packed, I need to get nasal congestgants tomorrow, stuff in Freya's gift and pack my computer, and I'm good to go. *wibble* I always get all angsty the day before - I have this whole 'OMG what if she doesn't LIKE me anymore' worry, which makes it hard to sleep, but what the hey, I get to see (and kiss, and touch and tmi-ness) Freya tomorrow, and that's wonderful, amazing and fantastic, even with the angst.
Of course, because I am going to see Freya tomorrow and my period stopped today, my body had to drop something else on me - it's fun like that. So I'm sick. Yup, sick. Sneezing, sniffling and with a sore throat. Only bonus of this? Freya likes deep voices.
I have had so much lemon juice and honey tea that I never want to see a lemon again in my life. Also, my ears should feel free to become unstuffed at any time. Memo to self: One more glass of tea and then two painkillers before bed. Ergh.
Of course, there is a reason I'm not in bed, and that reason is that I need to put my thoughts down regarding Merchant of Venice while they're still fresh. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I did finally see Merchant of Venice today.
And lo, it was good.
It was *so* good. I love the text itself, but the way it came alive...It was beautifully done. Summary and text of the play can be found here. There are several small, but crucial differences in this text and the movie's script.
First things first: Shylock. There are so many ways to go wrong with this character - he moves all too easily into caricature. But Al Pacino was amazing; every moment of the hatred, every act of degredation shown him was written in his face, and he had the ability to make you *feel* for Shylock, even in his ugliest moments. He made him come alive, made you care about this bitter, hating man - I didn't want a bad end for Shylock, despite his trying to take Antonio's life. He'd suffered so much already, it seemed too much. And the line 'I am not well' almost broke my heart (which was already in unstable condition due to the nature of the particular scene).
Then there is the Merchant himself, Antonio. And everyone knows that I was predisposed to adore Antonio - Jeremy Irons, need I say more? But I shall, none-the-less. Oh Jeremy! You do so break my heart. The pain and *love*, plain and simple, written on his face every time he looked at Bassanio was wonderfully done; it wasn't subtle, persay, but it was wonderfully elegantly played. And Antonio was passive enough that you believed him to be the kind of man to sacrifice himself, rather than go back on his beliefs, or even try for reason in front of the jury. The passiveness also showed in his hatred of Shylock; it's more disregard, a learned a habit we see here, than outright spite; it's a man so sure he's in the right that he doesn't need to preach about it, he shows it in small ways. Though a man who spits on jews should probably not be having improper thoughts about another man while at mass. That would be hypocritical.
Portia, then, is a bit harder to place; Lynn Collins did a wonderful job with her, but...there was a falseness to her, both in her 'an unlesson'd girl, unschool'd' speech (because Portia has been in charge of her father estate for a good length of time now, she's hardly helpless) and in the courtroom scene - she's amazing in it, effective and she did get Antonio out of his bond, but was it crucial she wait until the last moment before revealing the fault of the bond? Was it really nessecary for Antonio to be stripped and bound before she revealed her knowledge? But Portia is a strong figure, if not always sympathetic, and I did like her, to a point. And my heart ached for her in the almost final scene (even though my sympathies were still with Antonio. Because, well. Love.)
(Nerissa, on the other hand, rocked. I have a huge crush on her, and Gratiano, funny and witty he may be, did not deserve her. She was beautiful, she was smart, she was sassy. And sexy. Very, very sexy.)
Bassanio...ah, Bassanio is not the smartest man. And he seemed to be rather confused throughout the entire movie; he was manipulative, romantic and heartbroken in turn, but all of the emotion seemed to come accopanied with a little confusion. Joesph Fiennes did an excellent job, and it was impossible to dislike him. He also managed to make his monologues less pretentious than they risked becoming and that is a distinct point in his favour (even if I couldn't stop giggling when he said, 'No, gold, I'll have none of you'. Because the entire plot is built up around the fact that yes, yes he will.)
So let's talk scenes. The bedroom scene, where Bassanio comes to request money...Jesus Christ. Beautifully done, absolutely beautifully. The almost-not-quite-tension, the teasing glances (Bassanio, I'm looking at you), Jeremy's eyes...it's just a wonderful scene. And I'm still intrigued by the fact that for Bassanio, Portia is first rich, then fair, then virtous. Nice priorities there, hon. But the scene was wonderfully, and the kiss...I'm surprised I actually managed to see the rest of the movie and didn't just blackout then and there (along with a few other audience members - I heard a couple of gasps at that point). May I add an 'Oh, Antonio' on that note?
Jessica runs away - I cannot have been the only person who wanted to slap her? Her father, weary and old, sets of to tolerate the company of people who hate him and bids her take care of his house. So she robs him and runs of with a Christian. A pointless Christian, as well. And the scene where Shylock comes back to discover her gone - absolutely heartrendering. The poor man, and the way Pacino plays it, just close enough to mania kicking in, it was one of his best scenes (hard to choose between them all).
Most of the scenes in Belmont were tragically rather boring; they are boring as text, and boring when played. I do have a few comments, none-the-less: I loved the dialogue between Nerissa and Portia where she lists her suitors. The girls had good chemistry and the scene worked well for that reason. Marocco was vaguely amusing, though I couldn't help feeling a small twinge of pity for him. Aragon was just an over the top parody. Bassanio's wooing took too damn long (though the actors played well off of each other), and the feast afterwards had good moments, but was mostly not noteworthy. The action, obviously, was in Venice (and what action!)
Speech. Oh, I loved this scene. It's the famous 'If you prick us, do we not bleed' scene, and it was *mindblowing*. I mean, when read it's powerful, but the way Pacino did it...! And the best part was, it wasn't just a monologue, it was spoken like an every day rant, and it was *so* incredible. I loved it.
Courtroom scene - well, what can't be put here? Antonio's joy at Bassanio's *presence*, Shylock's plea for justice, Portia's speech about mercy, Bassanio's admission and the subsequent goodbye between Antonio/Bassanio (witness the incredible weeping Chris!), the sadistic way Portia draws out final moment, the look on Portia's face when she hears Bassanio and Antonio's farewell, Portia and Nerissa dressed as men...the entire thing was a thing of genius. The movie could be watched for that scene alone.
Subsequent ring scene: *whimper* On behalf of Portia, Antonio and Bassanio. How much pain there is in that scene (again, even though I couldn't quite contain a giggle at one point).
I could rant about Bassanio's practised speeches versus his unpractised, the parallel drawn between Shylock and Antonio and the things that were cut for ages, but I need to get my painkillers and then go to bed.
Wish me a good journey - I hope you all have a lovely week/vacation!
Of course, because I am going to see Freya tomorrow and my period stopped today, my body had to drop something else on me - it's fun like that. So I'm sick. Yup, sick. Sneezing, sniffling and with a sore throat. Only bonus of this? Freya likes deep voices.
I have had so much lemon juice and honey tea that I never want to see a lemon again in my life. Also, my ears should feel free to become unstuffed at any time. Memo to self: One more glass of tea and then two painkillers before bed. Ergh.
Of course, there is a reason I'm not in bed, and that reason is that I need to put my thoughts down regarding Merchant of Venice while they're still fresh. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I did finally see Merchant of Venice today.
And lo, it was good.
It was *so* good. I love the text itself, but the way it came alive...It was beautifully done. Summary and text of the play can be found here. There are several small, but crucial differences in this text and the movie's script.
First things first: Shylock. There are so many ways to go wrong with this character - he moves all too easily into caricature. But Al Pacino was amazing; every moment of the hatred, every act of degredation shown him was written in his face, and he had the ability to make you *feel* for Shylock, even in his ugliest moments. He made him come alive, made you care about this bitter, hating man - I didn't want a bad end for Shylock, despite his trying to take Antonio's life. He'd suffered so much already, it seemed too much. And the line 'I am not well' almost broke my heart (which was already in unstable condition due to the nature of the particular scene).
Then there is the Merchant himself, Antonio. And everyone knows that I was predisposed to adore Antonio - Jeremy Irons, need I say more? But I shall, none-the-less. Oh Jeremy! You do so break my heart. The pain and *love*, plain and simple, written on his face every time he looked at Bassanio was wonderfully done; it wasn't subtle, persay, but it was wonderfully elegantly played. And Antonio was passive enough that you believed him to be the kind of man to sacrifice himself, rather than go back on his beliefs, or even try for reason in front of the jury. The passiveness also showed in his hatred of Shylock; it's more disregard, a learned a habit we see here, than outright spite; it's a man so sure he's in the right that he doesn't need to preach about it, he shows it in small ways. Though a man who spits on jews should probably not be having improper thoughts about another man while at mass. That would be hypocritical.
Portia, then, is a bit harder to place; Lynn Collins did a wonderful job with her, but...there was a falseness to her, both in her 'an unlesson'd girl, unschool'd' speech (because Portia has been in charge of her father estate for a good length of time now, she's hardly helpless) and in the courtroom scene - she's amazing in it, effective and she did get Antonio out of his bond, but was it crucial she wait until the last moment before revealing the fault of the bond? Was it really nessecary for Antonio to be stripped and bound before she revealed her knowledge? But Portia is a strong figure, if not always sympathetic, and I did like her, to a point. And my heart ached for her in the almost final scene (even though my sympathies were still with Antonio. Because, well. Love.)
(Nerissa, on the other hand, rocked. I have a huge crush on her, and Gratiano, funny and witty he may be, did not deserve her. She was beautiful, she was smart, she was sassy. And sexy. Very, very sexy.)
Bassanio...ah, Bassanio is not the smartest man. And he seemed to be rather confused throughout the entire movie; he was manipulative, romantic and heartbroken in turn, but all of the emotion seemed to come accopanied with a little confusion. Joesph Fiennes did an excellent job, and it was impossible to dislike him. He also managed to make his monologues less pretentious than they risked becoming and that is a distinct point in his favour (even if I couldn't stop giggling when he said, 'No, gold, I'll have none of you'. Because the entire plot is built up around the fact that yes, yes he will.)
So let's talk scenes. The bedroom scene, where Bassanio comes to request money...Jesus Christ. Beautifully done, absolutely beautifully. The almost-not-quite-tension, the teasing glances (Bassanio, I'm looking at you), Jeremy's eyes...it's just a wonderful scene. And I'm still intrigued by the fact that for Bassanio, Portia is first rich, then fair, then virtous. Nice priorities there, hon. But the scene was wonderfully, and the kiss...I'm surprised I actually managed to see the rest of the movie and didn't just blackout then and there (along with a few other audience members - I heard a couple of gasps at that point). May I add an 'Oh, Antonio' on that note?
Jessica runs away - I cannot have been the only person who wanted to slap her? Her father, weary and old, sets of to tolerate the company of people who hate him and bids her take care of his house. So she robs him and runs of with a Christian. A pointless Christian, as well. And the scene where Shylock comes back to discover her gone - absolutely heartrendering. The poor man, and the way Pacino plays it, just close enough to mania kicking in, it was one of his best scenes (hard to choose between them all).
Most of the scenes in Belmont were tragically rather boring; they are boring as text, and boring when played. I do have a few comments, none-the-less: I loved the dialogue between Nerissa and Portia where she lists her suitors. The girls had good chemistry and the scene worked well for that reason. Marocco was vaguely amusing, though I couldn't help feeling a small twinge of pity for him. Aragon was just an over the top parody. Bassanio's wooing took too damn long (though the actors played well off of each other), and the feast afterwards had good moments, but was mostly not noteworthy. The action, obviously, was in Venice (and what action!)
Speech. Oh, I loved this scene. It's the famous 'If you prick us, do we not bleed' scene, and it was *mindblowing*. I mean, when read it's powerful, but the way Pacino did it...! And the best part was, it wasn't just a monologue, it was spoken like an every day rant, and it was *so* incredible. I loved it.
Courtroom scene - well, what can't be put here? Antonio's joy at Bassanio's *presence*, Shylock's plea for justice, Portia's speech about mercy, Bassanio's admission and the subsequent goodbye between Antonio/Bassanio (witness the incredible weeping Chris!), the sadistic way Portia draws out final moment, the look on Portia's face when she hears Bassanio and Antonio's farewell, Portia and Nerissa dressed as men...the entire thing was a thing of genius. The movie could be watched for that scene alone.
Subsequent ring scene: *whimper* On behalf of Portia, Antonio and Bassanio. How much pain there is in that scene (again, even though I couldn't quite contain a giggle at one point).
I could rant about Bassanio's practised speeches versus his unpractised, the parallel drawn between Shylock and Antonio and the things that were cut for ages, but I need to get my painkillers and then go to bed.
Wish me a good journey - I hope you all have a lovely week/vacation!
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(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-12 11:01 am (UTC)*massages your temples and wraps you in soft blanket*
There, sweetie. Now go to sleep, and tomorrow you'll be with your sweetheart!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-02-12 11:04 pm (UTC)