“Cymbelin” reviews are called one of Shakespeare’s most mysterious plays; it very rarely appears on the stage. Initially, the work was included in the posthumous edition of the author’s plays, however, it took last place there. So the assumption appeared that it was the last creation of the great playwright, and not “The Tempest” or the chronicle “Henry VIII”.
Last disappointed look
It is believed that Shymbere did not write Cymbelin. In particular, authorship is sometimes attributed to the Earl of Oxford, Edward de Ver. On the other hand, the play is called a careless joke of a genius who created a crazy mix of storylines from all his comedic and tragic works. In fact, in a work whose genre is extremely difficult to determine, one can recognize the motives of “King Lear”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Troilus and Cressida”, “Othello”, “Winter's Tale” and “Twelfth Night”. It is unlikely that Shakespeare set himself the task of mimicking himself, rather, the play - this is the creator’s disappointed last look at the world around him. Perhaps that is why it is so difficult to adapt a plot composed several centuries ago to modern realities. And nevertheless, director Michael Almereida boldly took up the film adaptation. He decided to adapt the Shakespearean “Cymbelin”, the summary of which became the basis of the storyline of the picture.
Plot
Imogen (Dakota Johnson) - the beautiful rose “Cymbelin” (Emily Blunt, however, according to film critics, would fit more organically into this image) - the daughter of the criminal biker “king” Tsimbelin, secretly marries her father’s ward Postum (Penn Beggley) . Since dad has long decided to marry Imogen to his stepson Kloten (Anton Yelchin), he expels Postum from the gang and the city, and locks the naughty daughter in the house. Yakimo (Ethan Hawke), an old acquaintance of Postum, took advantage of this situation. He consciously concludes with a guy a bet that in a short time he will be able to seduce his wife and provide significant evidence of her infidelity. At this time, the insidious wife of the “king” (Mila Jovovich) is going to send her husband to the next world, having poisoned him so that the gang could be led by her son.
Details
Screenwriter and director Michael Almereida (originally a documentary filmmaker) clearly has a considerable weakness for Shakespeare's work - he has already shot two films based on his plays. His version of the adaptation of “Hamlet” was also shot in a popular modernized manner: Claudius is the manager of an advanced corporation, Hamlet comments on the events of his life and keeps a video diary. By the way, the role of Hamlet was played by the same Ethan Hawke, who plays the role of the muddy sly Yakimo in Cymbel. He teases at the simple-minded Postum and urges him to check the loyalty of his wife Imogeny.
The on-screen Postum is either silly or so infantile. But he is not a player, he is a card that the king and queen play together with others like them, and they also appoint trump cards - all exactly as Shakespeare wrote. Cymbelin, a brief summary of which further resembles Twelfth Night and Othello, must be watched in person. All paraphrases will not dot the “i”. This is a very interesting experiment, a film adaptation of the Shakespearean play. Returning to the controversial issue of the relevance of Shakespeare's works in chaotic modernity, we can safely say: Almereida proved this importance and vitality.
Without energy
Having embarked on the difficult play “Zimbeline” (reviews repeatedly emphasize this fact), in which the ends do not always make ends meet, the director and screenwriter in one person, Michael Almerida, attracted the main roles of the real stars of world cinema, but could not breathe spark of life in the characters. The stern and brutal Ed Harris, the roguish and quirky Ethan Hawke and the majestic and beautiful Mila Jovovich attract spectator attention, but the leading actors Dakota Johnson and Penn Badgley play uncertainly, there isn’t the same “chemistry” between them. They do not have energy, their dialogues sound too dull, and their actions look illogical, their actions are unreasonably stupid.
The essence and spirit of the times
The work of the operator Tim Orr is worthy of praise, as well as the efforts of dressers, artists, decorators. The drama "Cymbelin" (reviews of film critics confirm this) is very atmospheric: the world of elderly bikers - pathos and cruel - is an excellent embodiment of the conflict between Rome and Britain. The history of old days was worthily and convincingly transferred to our chaotic modernity. The abundance in the frame of gadgets, sexy shorts and motorcycle helmets looks old-fashioned, archaic, profaning the most important thing in the picture - the spirit and style of the time and the very meaning of modernization.
High-quality but controversial staging
The movie drama by Michael Almereid was not created very accurately from the point of view of the film industry, but rather competently in relation to the literary source - the play “Zimbelin” (Shakespeare would most likely be satisfied). The film is a high-quality production in the spirit of “Sons of Anarchy” with the romantic mood of “Dangerous Illusion”. Naturally, the director would have made the work “Cymbelin” (critics often say this) with a traditional adaptation of a costume like “Carlo Carle or Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet,” the picture would definitely have been a huge success. And so, unfortunately, it turned out a one-time film, which the majority will watch due to the impressive cast and the ingenious syllable of Shakespeare.