Twelfth Night or What You Will

Plot synopsis:
Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria and she comes ashore with the help of a captain. She lost contact with her twin brother, Sebastian, whom she believed to be drowned. Disguising herself as a young man under the name Cesario, she enters the service of Duke Orsino through the help of the sea captain who rescues her. Duke Orsino has convinced himself that he is in love with Olivia, whose father and brother have recently died, and who refuses to see charming things, be in the company of men, and entertain love or marriage proposals from anyone, the Duke included, until seven years have passed. Duke Orsino then uses 'Cesario' as an intermediary to profess his passionate love before Olivia. Olivia, however, forgetting about the seven years in his case, falls in love with 'Cesario', as she does not realize the Duke's messenger is a woman in disguise. In the meantime, Viola has fallen in love with the Duke Orsino, creating a love triangle between Duke Orsino, Olivia and Viola: Viola loves Duke Orsino, Duke Orsino loves Olivia, and Olivia loves Viola disguised as Cesario.
In the comic subplot, several characters conspire to make Olivia's pompous steward, Malvolio, believe that Olivia has fallen for him. This involves Olivia's uncle, Sir Toby Belch; another would-be suitor, a silly squire named Sir Andrew Aguecheek; her servants Maria and Fabian; and her fool, Feste. Sir Toby and Sir Andrew engage themselves in drinking and revelry, thus disturbing the peace of Olivia's house until late into the night, prompting Malvolio to chastise them. Sir Toby famously retorts, "Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?" (Act II, Scene III) Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, and Maria are urged to plan revenge on Malvolio. They convince Malvolio that Olivia is secretly in love with him by planting a love letter, written by Maria in Olivia's handwriting. It asks Malvolio to wear yellow stockings cross-gartered, to be rude to the rest of the servants, and to smile constantly in the presence of Olivia. Malvolio finds the letter and reacts in surprised delight. He starts acting out the contents of the letter to show Olivia his positive response. Olivia is shocked by the changes in Malvolio and leaves him to the contrivances of his tormentors. Pretending that Malvolio is insane, they lock him up in a dark chamber. Feste visits him to mock his insanity, both disguised as a priest and as himself.
Meanwhile, Sebastian (who had been rescued by his friend Antonio, a brigand who Orsino wants arrested) arrives on the scene, which adds confusion of mistaken identity. Mistaking Sebastian for 'Cesario', Olivia asks him to marry her, and they are secretly married in a church. Finally, when 'Cesario' and Sebastian appear in the presence of both Olivia and Orsino, there is more wonder and confusion at their similarity. At this point, Viola reveals her disguise and that Sebastian is her twin brother. The play ends in a declaration of marriage between Duke Orsino and Viola, and it is learned that Sir Toby has married Maria. Malvolio swears revenge on his tormentors and stalks off, but Orsino sends Fabian to placate him.

Tags: romantic, flashback

Review:
Trevor Nunn's beautifully photographed and acted, deftly written film is one of the most enjoyable adaptations of a Shakespeare play ever made.
Helena Bonham Carter is pitch perfect as the beautiful Olivia, who in "deep mourning" for her dead brother, falls in love with Cesario (who happens to be a woman named Viola dressed up as a man, wonderfully played by Imogen Stubbs, the only actress I've ever seen able to create both a charming Viola and a totally believable Cesario), meanwhile Viola falls for the Duke of fictional Illyria (the exquisite Toby Stephens) who is desperately in love with the Lady Olivia.
The beautiful natural light, with later dark contrasts, perfectly complements the jovial, winning mood of this Shakespeare comedy brought to screen: and, what is more, this is truly beyond any sense of 'heritage cinema', as Shakespeare's genius is retained.Yes, it is all a very 'accessible' package, but much is unusual and distinctive to this film adaptation.
In Illyria, Orsino (Toby Stephens), a nobleman, is saddened because he cannot have the love of Lady Olivia (Helena Bonham-Carter) who is mourning the loss of her brother.
This is the premise of one of William Shakespeare's most appealing comedies, Twelfth Night: Or What You Will, updated from Elizabethan England to late 19th century and brought to life by director Trevor Nunn.
It is one of the best interpretations of Shakespeare that I have seen on film.Reminiscent of other Shakespearean cross-dressing comedies such as As You Like It, Twelfth Night is mostly about the ins and outs of romantic love but it is also about pride, "overweening ambition", disguises, and mistaken identities.
The play contains some of Shakespeare's most memorable characters: Sir Toby Belch (Mel Smith), Olivia's drunken uncle, his friend Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Richard E.
Grant) who is also trying to court Olivia, Olivia's gentlewoman Maria (Imelda Staunton), Feste (Ben Kingsley), the house clown, and Malvolio (Nigel Hawthorne) the prudish steward.
Some have noticed a similarity between the character of Olivia and Queen Elizabeth and interestingly, Olivia is addressed by Feste as "madonna", the only time the word is used in all of Shakespeare, perhaps a wry comment about the myth of the Virgin Queen.The main story involves a love triangle between Orsinio, Viola, and Olivia but the minor characters have more than ample time on stage.
She forges a love letter supposedly from Olivia telling him that if he wants her to notice him, he should dress in yellow stockings and crossed garters and, as he woos Olivia dressed in his strange attire, Malvolio cuts a ridiculous figure (incidentally this is the same costume worn by Henry VIII when he danced with Anne Boleyn, Queen Elizabeth's mother, at a masked ball, before he had her beheaded for adultery).While there are many great performances, the star for me is Ben Kingsley who is totally convincing as Feste, a fool but a knowing one who functions as an objective commentator of the scene around him, exuding an air of righteous superiority.
The scene that cuts between Feste's song and Viola/Cesario and Orsino playing cards is wonderful, taking in eight of the characters and telling you more about them.
However, the excellent Cornish locations at St Michael's Mount & Lanhyrock give a good sense of place and the winter setting (apart from the scene of apple picking!) comes across well - it really does look like an English winter, rather than a picture postcard snow-scene.The play is cut down to a manageable length without losing the sense of it, The broad comedy aspects (Toby Belch et al) are thankfully limited.The acting is well done by a cast of British stalwarts.
Amazingly, Viola and Sebastian actually do look broadly alike.This film is best viewed as an amusing light romantic comedy rather than a side-splitter..
The film nails both the joy and the darkness of Shakespeare's play - and the play, make no mistake, contains plenty of dark and strange moments when things go, as the drunken uncle Sir Toby Belch says, "Out of tune, sir." The filmmakers deserve credit for not glossing over the shades of sadism in Toby's treatment of Malvolio or the shallow fickleness of Orsino's character.
Nigel Hawthorne's Malvolio is destroyed by the glacial tempo, and Helena Bonham Carter's charm wilts at half speed.Mel Smith is beautifully cast as Sir Toby Belch, but is also just too darn slow.
Apparently he succumbed to the notion that everything Shakespearean has somehow to seem profound, which in this case results in an attempt to transfer this light, sparkling comedy, full of deliberately overdrawn characters and silly lines and pratfalls, into a brooding tragedy in which pompous ass Malvolio acts as if he were, or imagined himself to be, Hamlet caught in the wrong play, while clown Feste is misanthropic to the point of sadism.
Twelfth Night is one of Shakespeare's finest plays, with many complex characters who can constantly surprise the audience without in any way derailing the ongoing comedy, and this makes the play a joy to watch.
Overall I have rated this film at 5 stars; but readers of these comments should recognise that I would have liked to give it a higher rating if only I had been able to forget occasionally that I was watching actors playing rather strange and hybrid parts..
The 1990s, however, saw two very fine adaptations of Shakespearean comedies, Kenneth Branagh's "Much Ado about Nothing" and Trevor Nunn's "Twelfth Night"."Twelfth Night" is another name for the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6th, and the action of the play is supposed to take place around that date.
The lesbian overtones to the Olivia/Viola relationship would probably have been rather muted in Shakespeare's day when all female roles would have been played by boys, but here Helena Bonham-Carter and Imogen Stubbs (the director's wife) make the most of them.
I must, however, mention Stubbs, who is able to suggest both a male persona and the underlying woman, and Ben Kingsley as Olivia's jester Feste, whom he plays less as a clown than as a sardonic old philosopher, an eccentric but also a man gifted with penetrating insights into human life.
"Twelfth Night" is one of Shakespeare's best-known comedies, and like all well-known Shakespeare plays it has become very familiar in the theatre.
Bright spots came from the interaction of "Cesario" and Orsino, and a bright performance by Helena Bonham Carter as Olivia, who played mournful sister, besotted lover and imperious noblewoman with equal brilliance.
Throughout the play he has a disconcerting habit of staring at other characters or the camera with what almost be described as a leer.Maybe Shakespeare would have sighed and commiserated with the producer of this film, because the clowns in his day were also big stars who demanded a lot of meat in their roles.
Imogen Stubbs is attractive and feisty as Viola/Cesario, Ben Kingsley delivers a complex and intriguing performance as the fool Feste, and Helena Bonham -Carter is a warm, humorous and devastatingly beautiful Olivia.
Ben Kingsley can't sing but is nonetheless a charismatic, intriguing Feste; Nigel Hawthorne is particularly effective in Malvolio's final scenes, somewhere close to Madness of King George territory, while Imogen Stubbs is an engaging Viola (and reasonably credible Cesario) throughout.
I admit I'm no expert on Shakespeare and I'd never read 'Twelfth Night' before seeing this film, so I found it a little difficult to follow.
Her scenes with Helena Bonham Carter as Olivia, who is smitten with "him," are a great joy and lots of fun to watch.
For various reasons, I think that stage representations, and films all the more, are usually incapable to render the full power of Shakespeare's genius."Twelfth Night" sits among the too many movies from Shakespeare's works.
Following are my comments on the film.Usually, and sensibly, the twins Sebastian and Viola are played on the stage by the same actress.
Unfortunately, Mackintosh and Stubbs are so utterly different that the view of people on the screen pretending to mistake one for the other has a ridiculous effect on the audience.The 19th century costumes ruins the legendary atmosphere of the story: where to place Orsino's duchy in Illyria, at that epoch divided between the Austrian and Turkish empires?I have seen Nigel Hawthorne in several British movies.
There's no art in many of these comic scenes, which should be cut with advantage.Bonham Carter and Stubbs act well and are pretty and attractive women; but Shakespeare's love-verses praise and exalt a beauty these two actresses don't attain.
And, speaking of women's attractiveness, how much drunk is supposed to be Sir Toby, to fall in love with THAT maid Maria?The above considerations are not intended to blame "Twelfth Night", a pleasant movie with some merits.
Although not the 'modern' version it once was this is still a good enough film version of Shakespeare's immortal comedy of misunderstandings and love triangles galore.As with any literary adaptation there are certain interpretations of characters/actors playing them that you prefer, and this version is no different.
I liked Helena Bonham Carter's portrayal, I didn't like Ben Kingsley's, it's swings and roundabouts.This is however a decent enough adaptation that remains faithful to the original text to satisfy fans, while also filmic enough to entertain those who haven't read the play..
With this version of Twelfth Night, I did find some parts of the first half of the film a little hard to get into but as the characters and various threads get developed a bit more.At the start the aspects of farce and slight melancholy don't totally work but as it went on and I got into it, I found that it worked better and better.
Perhaps Viola has previously been played as a page rather than a young man being trained in warfare as in this movie but I think the best reading is that Viola is a strongwilled, adventurous young woman who wouldn't want the kind of conventional life Olivia has and with her brother lost seizes the opportunity to try out living a man's life with all the privileges that would bring in Shakespeare's time.
I'm no big fan of Shakespeare's comedies, much preferring his darker fare like the tragedies, but TWELFTH NIGHT is a riotous film brought ably to life by theatre director Trevor Nunn.
Shakespeare's story of mistaken identity and the attempts of numerous suitors attempting to woo a countess is certainly a fast-paced and chaotic affair.Helena Bonham Carter headlines the cast in a decent early role, and she's supported by the likes of Nigel Hawthorne, Toby Stephens, and Nicholas Farrell.
The cast are good, the choice of which parts would and would not work in film was (usually) good and the soundtrack is quite nice, although certain liberties have been taken with the lyrics that Shakespeare included in the play.
Put Imogen Stubbs and Helena Bonham-Carter together as Viola/Cesario and Olivia, add Toby Stephens (Orsino), Mel Smith (Toby Belch), Richard E Grant (Andrew Aguecheek), Imelda Staunton (Maria), Nigel Hawthorne (Malvolio), and Ben Kingsley (Feste) to the mix - and Trevor Nunn's bright and witty film couldn't fail.
A certain scene (which I will not spoil, but occurs as Act 2.4) was an unconventional yet successful way to add dimension and depth to said persons' relationship.I give abounding credit to Trevor Nunn, for it is difficult to adapt plays to the big screen and have it be as captivating as if you were reading the story or watching the play.
When the Duke sends his new "male" servant to woo his love, Lady Olivia (the glamorous Helena Bonham Carter), all sorts of chaos reigns, especially when Viola's now identically looking twin brother arrives!!The actors give it their all and make the complicated Shakespearian language much easier to follow.
After watching this film, however, I have been reading the play itself and have really enjoyed studying the original Shakespeare!
The acted dialog does not flow as well as some Shakespeare films (such as "Much Ado About Nothing" with Kenneth Branagh, which is a personal favorite) and it took me a few viewings to be able to appreciate this "Twelfth Night" movie as well as I do now.
Feste the clown, played by Ben Kingsley, is quite entertaining and expressive, and perhaps one of the best characters in the film.
In William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" (or, "What You Will"), brother and sister twins "Viola" and "Sebastian" are shipwrecked off the shores of "Illyria".
Then, all's well that ends well.The supporting characters in director Trevor Nunn's cinematic version are all right (actually, they come off better, due to the overall execution of the film).
But, mainly, it's about Imogen Stubbs (as Viola aka Cesario), and her interaction with Toby Stephens (as Orsino) and Helena Bonham Carter (as Olivia).
This film points in the right direction; but, next time, either go all the way, or leave "Twelfth Night" on the stage.****** Twelfth Night (1996) Trevor Nunn ~ Imogen Stubbs, Toby Stephens, Helena Bonham Carter.
Trevor Nunn's adaptation of one of Shakespeare's best comedies rates as one of the finest.
I'm in a Shakespeare class in school this year, and we watched two or three different movies/films of each play we read.
Twelfth Night is an adaptation of Shakespeare's play of the same name.
This version, directed by Trevor Nunn in 1996 starred Imogen Stubbs, Steven Mackintosh, Ben Kingsley, and Helena Bonham Carter.
It is not thr best Shakespeare film, not like Othello, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet, but it does boast a strong cast and impeccable production values.If I had any criticisms against this Twelfth Night, they would be that as well shot and as interesting as the beginning scene was, part of me found it unnecessary compared to the rest of the film and it didn't add much to the storytelling, and also it did feel a little sugar-coated towards the end.Criticisms aside, this is a very beautiful-looking Twelfth Night, with the luscious photography, autumnal imagery and scenery and colourful, sumptuous costumes.
A first-rate cast directed by Trevor Nunn, the premier Shakespeare interpreter of our era, makes this version of Twelfth Night a must-see for anyone who loves Shakespeare.
Nunn takes full advantage of the rugged setting to eliminate the proscenium and draws excellent performances from his cast of British-trained stars led by Helena Bonham Carter as Olivia, Imogen Stubbs as Viola (posing as Rosario), Ben Kingsley as Feste, the clown, Nigel Hawthorne as Malvolio, the proud steward, Mel Smith as Sir Toby Belch who combines with Maria, played by Imelda Stuanton, to reduce Malvolio to ridicule and tears.
The lone weak spot in the cast is Toby Stevens as Orsino, too weak a personality to inspire Viola's love (though his spurning as a suitor by Bonham Carter's Olivia is easy to understand).
Most of the others are great as well, but I will single out Olivia again, as I hold Helena Bonham-Carter to be the One True Fit for Shakespeare's quintessential "dark lady" stock character, and it is such a shame that she hasn't had the chance to prove it more often.Anyway - there is one major imperfection in this Twelfth, and that is Malvolio.
The comedic sub-plot involving Sir Toby, Sir Andrew, Maria and Fabian is an essential, earthy counter balance to the rather airy-fairy love triangle.The parts of Feste and Malvolio straddle both the main plot and the comedic sub-plot and it is no surprise therefore that these characters, wonderfully played by Ben Kingsley and Nigel Hawthorne, are the most effectively realised.Imelda Staunton was excellent in the role of Maria but Mr. Nunn failed Mel Smith and Richard E.
Imogen Stubbs and Helena Bonham Carter were both very good (and delightfully easy on the eye), while I also liked Toby Stephens very much as the sexually ambiguous Duke.Any Shakespeare is worth watching, and this is no exception.
The guys who played the Duke of Orsino and Viola's twin brother are absolutely handsome and great in their roles.
Second best movie adaptation of a Shakespeare comedy.
Oh, and the best movie adaptation of a Shakespearean comedy is Branagh's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING - if you liked TWELFTH NIGHT, check this one out as well!.
Even if I did not understand every word, I would get the meaning with help from the incredible acting.Imogene Stubbs is beautiful as Viola- she really makes a very cute, albeit effeminate "boy." I felt the most for her, especially when she tells the Duke the story of her love for him under the guise of a "sister." Toby Stephens as the Duke was quite handsome, and made the character more likable.
I really really wanted to like this film but I suppose since I'm not a huge fan with Shakespeare, it made it difficult for me to enjoy it and the fact the storyline should change with Imogen Stubbs' character falling in love with Helena Bonham Carter's character instead.
When it emerges that Sebastian is in fact still alive things get even more confused as he looks and is dressed just like 'Cesario'!This is the first version of this Shakespeare comedy that I've seen so can't say how it compares to other adaptions.
The rest of the cast were impressive too; notably Helena Bonham Carter as Olivia; Nigel Hawthorne as Malvolio; Ben Kingsley as Feste, the fool; Mel Smith as drunken Sir Toby Belch and Richard E.
Twelfth Night or What You Will (1996): Dir: Trevor Nunn / Cast: Imogen Stubbs, Helena Bonham Carter, Ben Kingsley, Nigel Hawthorne, Tobey Stephens: Art house film with stunning photography and tremendous art direction.
This gets even more twisted when Sebastian, Viola's twin brother, arrives and Olivia, believing him to be Viola, marries him.This particular version of the play is well done, though there are a lot of additions, and the scenes are changed about to make it flow better on the screen.
You can't go wrong with Shakespeare's best romantic comedy, Twelfth Night.