In todays lesson we watched the BBC 1996 Adaption of Twelfth Night, directed by Trevor Nunn. Which featured Ben Kingsley and Helana Bonam Carter.
I really enjoyed this film and found it very funny throughout, it has a strong storyline but I feel it was very lighthearted throughout, which made it more enjoyable to watch. I found it relatively easy to understand, but at some points it could get a little confusing, mainly about who is in love with who!
Orsino is in love with Olivia
Olivia is in love with Cezario(who is actually Viola)
Viola is in love with Orsino
Sebastian is in love with Olivia(towards the end of the film)
Malvolio is in love with Olivia
Toby Belche is in love with Maria(and she is too)
Andrew Aguecheek is in love with Olivia
Antonio is in love with Sebestian
The love is mutual between very few of the characters, as most of the love is unrequited, and of course the love between the TWINS, Viola and Sebestian is unconditional. The main theme in this play is quite clearly, LOVE. And all the different types of love, Shakespeare explores how different people react to love and what is does to them.
The one character who interested me the most was FESTE The Clown. He is Olivias "fool" which entitles him to act and say what he likes as he is employed by Lady Olivia, who has very high status.
He is such an odd character, he is almost like the narrator, and he sees and heres everything. He knows everybodies secrets, and speaks his mind openly, he is the only character that is allowed to bad mouth Olivia and Orsino, without getting into a lot of trouble. I feel because he is seen as the clown, people do not really care what he has to say, and he has some sort of status in a way as he gets away with a lot of bad things he says and does.
At one point in the film I thought Feste was in love with Olivia, but then I changed my mind as he mocks Olivia throughout the film, and he is almost like an annoying younger brother who will not leave her alone. But I was wrong thinking he was in love with her as the way he acted around her was not the same as how Orsino or "Cezario" acted. And he never appeared jealous of all the male interest she has, I think he found it very amusing actually. He also moves between Olivia and Orsinos households, in Orsinos household he is there to supply music and to entertain the guests, mainly the drunks who are "Toby Belch and Andrew" who are constantly drunk throughout the whole play, much to Malvolio's disgust, who is a Puritian and is very serious about everything and has a lot of respect for Olivia. Feste is very wise, but sometimes I thought he was just making a fool out of everyone. At the end of the film, it ends with Feste singing a love song, in a way I feel he is sad as no one loves him and he too does not love anyone. He ends all on his own, whilst everyone else is coupled up, apart from Antonio, who does not play a big role in the performance. I feel Feste characteristics change a lot in this film, as in some parts he is very serious and grown up, and in other parts he is a joker, an idiot and mocks everyone. In my opinion, he should either be one or the other.
The questions I have to ask about this adaption of Twelfth night are..
- Why was Mariah not confronted about forging Lady Olivias handwriting? She got away with it too easily and I was unclear at the end of where she had gone
- Why was no one angry at the fact Cezario was not a man but infact a woman? Orsino did not even seem that annoyed about it.
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