Dir. Michael Radford, 2004, USA/Italy/Luxembourg/UK, 138 min
Cast: Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes, John Sessions, Mackenzie Crook
Bringing William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice to the big screen is a tricky proposition, as Michael Redfern, director of this year's adaptation, and producers Cary Brokaw and Barry Navidi knew from the very beginning. The fact that theirs is a big budget production which must necessarily appeal to a broad audience didn't make things easier. Like many of Shakespeare's plays, The Merchant of Venice is a combination of disparate elements and storylines that are only connected at certain points in the bigger picture. Every subplot in The Merchant of Venice, without exception, poses potential problems for a modern audience.
When young nobleman Bassanio (Fiennes), who has a problem keeping money in his purse for long, asks his older friend Antonio (Irons) for funds to woo rich and fair heiress Portia (Lynn Collins), his motives are crystal clear: "My chief care/is to come fairly off from the great debts/Wherein my time, something too prodigal/hath left me gaged". Not exactly the portrait of romantic love, except that when the couple finally meet their relationship becomes one of those hyper-idealised, sugary Shakespearian romances that make Pretty Woman look like gritty psychological realism. To what extent such a two-dimensional depiction can speak to modern sensitivities is open to question.
Equally challenging is the treatment of Shylock (Pacino), the Jewish moneylender who provides Antonio with the sum he needs to fund Bassanio's expedition to Portia's dwellings in Belmont. Much as he has been (rightly) considered one of the most fascinating characters in the play (and perhaps in all of Shakespeare's work), it's hard to see how an Elizabethan audience could perceive him as anything other than a confirmation of their racial prejudices. How to make Shylock's treatment within the play relevant to global audiences alert to the nature of racial and religious bigotry, is not an easy problem to solve.
Faced with the many challenges of the project, the production team has wisely capitalised on the aspects of the play that have made it a favourite with audiences since Shakespeare's time. Redfern and the producers knew that they had to go all out to bring to life the lushness of the world of the story, from the streets and canals of Venice to the luxury of Belmont. Their decision to film in the city itself was helped by the enthusiasm of the authorities, who offered to close off the Doge's Palace in St Mark's square, the Rialto Bridge and even the Grand Canal itself for the shooting team. The results are quite impressive, and the visual world of the film, from the costumes to the food on the banquet tables, to the atmosphere of the crowded alleyways, to Benoit Delhomme's spellbinding photography, does justice to the allure of the setting.
The very complexity and emotional depth of Shylock's character is another major asset of the play, and the decision to cast Al Pacino in this key role is one of the central pillars of the project. Pacino himself has confessed that he hadn't been as excited since shooting his own movie Looking for Richard, a self-styled documentary exploring Shakespeare's play Richard III. The camerawork combines with Pacino's complete mastery of the character to produce a riveting performance, in fact much more so than those of most of his fellow actors, slightly overburdened with mannerisms and awkward physical activity that gets in the way of the real essence of the scenes. Connected to the importance attributed to Shylock is Redfern's decision to include an introductory section placing the story and Shylock's character in the context of the situation of the Jews in the rich, multicultural city that was 16th century Venice.
Michael Redfern's The Merchant of Venice is a great spectacle and is sure to become an indispensable reference, not only in the history of Shakespearian adaptations but for all lovers of the Bard's work.
Miguel Sopena
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