Preproduction was dominated by rigorous dancing and singing coaching.īranagh reversed the philosophy he had used with Hamlet (that is, to keep every word of the original), and instead made major cuts in the play's text. Of the cast, only Nathan Lane was known primarily for musical work. This decision also allowed him to revisit the Hollywood film musicals he had loved in his youth.īranagh cast the film without much regard for singing or dancing ability as in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You, the film was meant to highlight energy and enthusiasm rather than smooth competence.
Branagh took this insight a step further and turned the play into a musical, going much further in his adaptation of the play than he had ever done in his Shakespeare films, and risking the alienation of both audiences and serious critics. From that period, he was familiar with Harley Granville-Barker's famous essay arguing that Love's Labour's Lost could be treated as highly stylised, with the dialogue and action treated with an almost musical sense of rhythm. Geraldine McEwan as Holofernia (a female version of the male Holofernes in the original play)īranagh became interested in the play during his 1984 season with the Royal Shakespeare Company, when he had played the King of Navarre.Alicia Silverstone as The Princess of France.Alessandro Nivola as King Ferdinand of Navarre.
This, however, is a standard feature of Branagh's Shakespeare adaptations his Hamlet contains many non-speaking walk-on roles that are not included in the original play, but are mentioned in the cast list. Gaston, Isabelle, Eugene, Jaques, Beatrice, Hyppolyte, Celimene, and Sophie are not mentioned in the play, and they have no lines in the film. Some of the characters in the film adaptation are not in the original script. The comic underplot of the original play, in which Costard and others attempt to stage a play (rather like that of the rude mechanicals in A Midsummer Night's Dream, though with more pretensions to learning) is severely curtailed, as is the boasting of the Spaniard, Don Armado. The montage ends with all those who survived the war (Boyett we specifically see die in some covert military action) reuniting in celebration on what appears to be VE Day. Newsreel footage shows the character's lives over the course of that year, which takes place in the context of World War II. As the year of mourning that will proceed for the princess and her ladies means further courtship is impossible, and the women had until this point treated the men's courtship as nothing but a mocking merriment to entertain their guests, they request demonstrations of humility and constancy from the men, with a promise to marry them at the end of the 12 months if they carry out these acts. But as the song closes, a messenger arrives with news of the King of France's death. Costard leads a musical number with the King's court, which eventually includes the entire cast. After a masked ball in which the pairs of lovers are comically mismatched, all the amours are revealed. The men attempt to hide their own loves and expose those of their fellows. Though the King does not grant them access to his palace (they are forced to camp outside), each of the courtiers falls in love with one of her handmaidens, and the King falls in love with the Princess herself. The Princess of France comes to Navarre to discuss the status of the province of Aquitaine. His chief courtiers agree to follow him in this vow, though one (Berowne) argues that they will not be able to fulfill this plan.īerowne's claim is proven correct almost instantly. The King of Navarre has vowed to avoid romantic entanglements to spend three years in study and contemplation.