I was a little cautious when approaching this film: the 1993 Kenneth Branagh adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing remains one of my favorite Shakespeare adaptations ever put to film and it's one of my favorite films of all time, actually- if I saw it on television, I'd sit down and watch, no questions asked. So when I heard that Joss Whedon had adapted Much Ado for film, I was curious to see if his adaptation would measure up to the 1993 version.
(Seriously: the '93 version had a perfect cast: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Keanu Reeves, Michael Keaton, Robert Sean Leonard, Denzel Washington and making her film debut, Kate Beckinsale of all people. How can you possibly measure up?)
Happily, Whedon is more than up to the task. His version is a modern adaptation and takes a different interpretation of Beatrice (Amy Acker) and Benedick's (Alexis Denisof) relationship, implying they had a one night stand before the play begins, changing things up to make their relationship a lost love found rather than finding an entirely new love. It's a change I like because it puts the often thorny relationship between Beatrice and Benedick into context- you get a better realization of why they might not like each other that much.
The setting is perfect: it's Whedon's house. Yes, what makes this brilliant is that the man was on a two week contractually obligated vacation from The Avengers and decided to relax by making a movie in his house. I want this house. Badly. It's a beautiful house and I couldn't think of a better place to set a modern adaptation of this play. The rest of the movie seems to flow from the setting... all the men are in suits, the women in stylish dresses. Smart phones and pictures get taken (it's an especially nice touch at the start of the movie when Leonato (Clark Gregg) enters, gesticulating with his smart phone to announce the Prince's impending arrival to Messina.)
I think the fact that it was filmed in black and white also helps make this a magical adaptation. A straight modern adaptation with the noises, lights and vivid colors of modern life could have overwhelmed the play itself- the black and white helps tone that down and, along with the setting- the hills around Los Angeles could easily double for any number of places in Italy- or at least look Italian enough to lend a sense of authenticity to the movie.
This cast is also fantastic! Any one who is a fan of Whedon's shows will recognize most, if not all of the cast. From Clark Gregg (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) to Nathan Fillion (Firefly- who also steps beautifully into Michael Keaton's role as Dogberry the Constable.) There's also Sean Maher (another Firefly alum), Reed Diamond (Dollhouse), Fran Kranz (Dollhouse), Ashley Johnson (that waitress in The Avengers, who gets saved by Captain America)- you get the idea. Jillian Morgese makes her debut as Hero opposite Fran Kranz as Claudio. (Not to mention Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof, alums of Buffy and Angel.)
Overall: I think it's kind of gutsy to adapt Shakespeare for film. You've got source material that's well, immortal, and you can't just show people what they'd see at their local Shakespeare festival. You've got to deliver a fresh and original take on it- and while Branagh's take was somewhat traditional, Whedon's take is riskier and all the more breathtaking in that he assembles a magical cast, drops them in a magical setting and weaves a spell that holds the movie together from beginning to end. **** out of ****
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