When compared to his other works, William Shakespeare’s last play, The Tempest is a bit of an odd duck. While it combines elements of his previous comedies, romances, and tragedies into something original, it can also come off as a bit stuffy. That’s not the case for Julie Taymor’s big screen adaptation which features lots of beautiful imagery and fine performances. Even so, The Tempest isn’t the kind of film that will appeal to everyone.
In this re-imagining, arch wizard Prospero, who orchestrates proceedings, is gender converted into Prospera (Helen Mirren) a headline change designed to pique interest among aficionados of the bard. Otherwise the plot remains much as in the original play.
Prospera had been a powerful a powerful noble in her native Milan but, when her detractors got wind of her alchemical tamperings, she was brutally deposed and cast adrift with her daughter Miranda (Felicity Jones). When the two wash up on a desert island, Prospera, develops some spectacular magical powers. When a boat carrying the lords who deposed her passes near the island she creates a huge storm to shipwreck them there. Divided into three groups, the survivors encounter Prospera, her daughter, and and her supernatural servants, the lithe Ariel (Ben Whishaw) and monstrous Caliban (Djimon Hounsou), as alliances are formed, lessons are learned, and the wronged sorceress must choose between forgiveness and revenge.
Throughout her career, with the projects like The Lion King on Broadway, and films including Frida and Across the Universe, Taymor has shown a real talent for creating visual stunning productions. The Tempest is one of the most visually arresting films I’ve seen in the last few years. The island of Lanai in Hawaii stands in for the unnamed Mediterranean island. The lush forests, ocean-side cliffs, and volcanic plains provide a lovely backdrop. Using that as a starting point, the director puts her actors in finely detailed costumes, and uses practical effects and CGI to add flourish.
The acting is pretty solid across the board. Helen Mirren does a very good job as Prospera; she makes the gender swap work. The swap adds a whole new dimension to the character. She maintains the necessary gravitas while providing occasional flashes of vulnerability, especially in her exchanges with Miranda and Ariel. Taymor has wisely selected a group of actors that are capable of translating Shakespeare in a manner that modern audiences are more likely to swallow.
Despite all of the positive elements, The Tempest doesn’t quite work as a whole. Most of the middle section feels slow; it consists of characters walking around the island and talking. As rich as the work of Shakespeare is, watching people walking around reciting it isn’t all that exciting. It makes the entire film languish.
As it stands, The Tempest should be a treat for both fans of the original play and folks that love lush cinema. Casual moviegoers will likely have difficulty with the slower pace in the middle section and the occasional incomprehensibility of the dialogue. Still, this is a valiant and beautiful effort at bringing a Shakespeare play to the screen.
Presented in the 2:35:1 aspect ratio, this 1080p transfer is very solid. The vast color spectrum is vibrant and distinct, with no signs of bleed or smearing. Black levels are nice and inky, while contrast remains even throughout. Detail quality is also exceptional, with costumes and backgrounds coming through with fine clarity. Grain is also handled very nicely.
The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound mix is wonderful. Clean dialogue is maintained while swirling through atmospherics and music in surround tracks, this mix is masterful and elegant. Fidelity is strong and dynamic, allowing each element to sound firm and clean.
Spanish and Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mixes are included, as are English SDH, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.
The Bu-ray includes a nice slate of special features:
- Director’s Audio Commentary: Writer/director Julie Taymor explains her changes to the text, detailing the methods to her madness, providing an overview of the production, defending her casting, and talking about the challenges of adapting Shakespeare, drawing a two-hour film out of such a complex text, and striking a balance between historical context and modern themes.
- Shakespeare Experts Audio Commentary: Renowned authors and Shakespeare experts Virginia Mason Vaughan (Professor of English at Clark University) and Jonathan Bate (Shakespeare Professor at England’s University of Warwick) discuss the play and Taymor’s adaptation at length. Vaughan and Bate are very thorough, touching on everything from the fabric of Shakespeare’s text to the essential elements inherent to Taymor’s interpretation, and succeed in delivering a non-stop exploration of both the play and the film.
- Raising the Tempest (HD, 66 minutes): Any remaining questions will be answered in this all-access behind-the-scenes documentary. The various cast and crew interviews, on-location footage, battles with the natural Lanai elements, rehearsal excerpts, visual effects breakdowns and at-times shot-by-shot, scene-by-scene dissections of the play, Taymor’s adaptation and the actors’ performances.
- Julie & Cast: Inside the L.A. Rehearsals (HD, 14 minutes): Taymor, Brand, Molina and Hounsou explore the characters of Trinculo, Stephano and Caliban during a stage rehearsal.
- Russell Brand Rehearsal Riff (HD, 5 minutes): On the first day of rehearsal, Taymor “interviews” Trinculo to bizarre but funny improvisational ends.
- Music Video (HD, 3 minutes): “Mistress Mine,” as performed by Reeve Carney.
- Sneak Peeks (HD, 6 minutes): Trailers for John Carter, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and African Cats.
