Woman Director: "The Tempest"

Film: The Tempest

Director: Julie Taymor
Running Time: 110 minutes
Copy: DVD borrowed from Yolo County Library
Watched: July 14

Spoilers: It's a famous Shakespeare play--I'm not going to be able to spoil much

I'm going to cheat a little today and review a film.  I feel justified since Mercutia and I are devoting July to female authors. This film was adapted and directed by Julie Taymor (who is perhaps best known right now for the mess that was the Spider-man musical), one of the very few female directors working in cinema right now. (I challenge you to name five other female directors--once I get past Sofia Coppola and Kathryn Bigelow, I start struggling. There are plenty, but female directors don't get quite the same attention that male directors get. Cinema, even more than writing, needs to have its female directors better represented.)

I want to start with the costuming in this film.  (The costume designer, Sandy Powell, was nominated for an Academy Award for her work on this film.) At first glance, most of the clothing seems appropriate, but the details reveal a more rebellious attitude. The first detail I noticed was the zipper on Ferdinand--I couldn't help but ask myself, "Did they have zippers back then?" It took me a little while to understand that everyone is wearing zippers. As the film progresses, the zippers become more central and more obvious, until we arrive at Prospera's final outfit, which uses zippers as decorations (Antonio's outfit is similarly decorated with zippers, but I didn't notice this until after I had seen Prospera's dress).

Perhaps most interesting is the outfit of Trinculo. No attempt is made at historical accuracy, which is completely appropriate. The bright, wildly patterned clothing pays homage to the motley worn by fools, but in a way accessible to modern viewers. Importantly, he wears no zippers, suggesting that zippers in this film is a complex marker of class (a suggestion somewhat undermined by the loose, zipperless clothing of Miranda, who is the only noble without a zipper). Trinculo's outfit is an expert costume, but I think half of its success is Russell Brand, who plays an exceptional Trinculo. (I'll admit I was worried Russell Brand would completely destroy this film, but his natural personality is close enough to Trinculo's. In the end, I think his may have been the best cast part. Chris Cooper as Antonio is a little mystifying to me.)

Because "July is for the Ladies," I want to dwell briefly on Taymor's major change to the script. Casting Prospero as a woman is an interesting move, with intriguing ramifications. The relationship between Ariel and Prospero changes dramatically because of this shift. In the original, the relationship between Prospero and his most loyal slave has dark undertones, undertones that are emphasized by the much more twisted relationship between Prospero and Caliban. By casting Prospero as a woman, the relationship between Ariel and Prospero becomes more of a parent/child one, stripping away a layer of Prospero's contradictory nature. The film shows Prospero's relationship with Ariel as much healthier and much more straight-forward, while the play emphasizes the complexity of this relationship.

In the film, the relationship between Prospero and Caliban is much odder and rather less important than in the play. I feel that many of the issues this slave/master relationship raises in the play have somehow been lessened by the change of Prospero's gender, rendering the relationship a much more traditional struggle between savage man and civilized woman. Somehow, just by changing Prospero's gender, Caliban has been rendered superfluous. I think the film could function just as powerfully without the Caliban sub-plot, though such an omission would spark controversy. I can't figure out why a mere change of gender so drastically changes Caliban's position; I'll have to continue to ponder that.

There are many other thoughtful elements to this film, but I won't discuss them all.  However, I want to draw attention to the use of Shakespeare's songs.  Too often the strange songs that are interjected into Shakespeare's plays are omitted; I was happy to have The Tempest's songs retained.  In addition, the character of Ariel deserves an entire essay.  Taymor has made Ariel into an intriguing mystery, though I do think she went a little overboard.  Finally, I was interested to hear the final monologue rendered as the song that plays over the credits.  I'm sure this is partly due to the fact that monologues don't work well in film and partly due to the fact that the monologue itself is so theatrical.  The lines work well as a song, though it is a rather strange change.

Overall, I liked this film.  It raises interesting questions about The Tempest and challenges some of the more difficult aspects of the play.  That being said, I think this film requires some knowledge of Shakespeare.  A film like Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing is more accessible, and more fun.  Watch this film, but know what you're getting into.  This isn't an escapist film.  It requires all your attention, especially if you want to comprehend what's being said.  (I watched it with the subtitles on so I could more easily follow the language, a choice that has the unfortunate side-effect of missing the scenery to some degree).  I think this would be a fun film to watch with something akin to a book group.  The discussion that followed would be lively and, I think, lengthy.

--Benvolia