William Shakespeare

Cymbeline is director Michael Almereyda’s second Shakespeare adaptation set in modern day, his last being 2000’s Hamlet, also starring Ethan Hawke. The Bard’s late work tragedy, previously set in the Royal Court of Olde England, receives a face-lift, updated to a war between the Roman police force and the Briton Motorcycle Club ran by Cymbeline (Ed Harris). The King trades in a crown for an Uzi and a leather jacket as a drug kingpin troubled by familial strife. His second wife (the serpentine Mila Jovovich) despises Cymbeline’s daughter, Imogen (Dakota Johnson, proving she has acting chops that viewers may not find in Fifty Shades of Grey), for not marrying her son, Cloten (Anton Yelchin). In secret, Imogen has pledged herself to Posthumus (Penn Badgley), much to Cymbeline’s displeasure.

Spending two hours in the world of Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing inspires envy in his seemingly palatial abode, as well as delight at his effortless, carefree adaptation of an equally effortless and carefree Shakespearean comedy. There’s mistaken identity, slapstick, swooning romance, and giddy farce, as you would expect from any revival, modern or otherwise.

Much Ado About Nothing Adapted and directed by Joss Whedon USA, 2012 Shot at the director’s home over twelve days amidst post-production for The Avengers, Joss Whedon’s version of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing was rehearsed and honed during various afternoon reads over the years. It’s a stylish take that cleverly transposes the text into …

Much Ado About Nothing Adapted and directed by Joss Whedon USA, 2012 Shot at the director’s home over twelve days amidst post-production for The Avengers, Joss Whedon’s version of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing was rehearsed and honed during various afternoon reads over the years. It’s a stylish take that cleverly transposes the text into …

My Own Private Idaho Written by Gus Van Sant Directed by Gus Van Sant USA, 1991 Though he has made his share of more conventional dramas like Good Will Hunting and Milk, and received Oscar nominations by doing so, Gus Van Sant always seems to fall back to a more sedate style, such as that …

Coriolanus Written by John Logan Directed by Ralph Fiennes UK, 2011 Many of the more interesting Shakespeare adaptations in film history are those that tend to be furthest removed from the stage tradition of the plays; changing the settings and eras, applying different preoccupations, and even dispensing with the writer’s prose altogether in some cases. …