Twelfth Night (1986)
7/10
Lacks the spark of the Nunn and Branagh adaptations, but worth seeing for the production values and cast
5 June 2012
I saw this while studying the play for GCSEs through Australian friends who were very into Shakespeare, and while I did enjoy this, I found Trevor Nunn and Kenneth Branagh's versions more lively-paced and witty. Mostly the dialogue is witty and clever like it should be, but there are a few moments where it did feel laboured(Orsino) or over-blown(Malvolio and occasionally Sir Toby). The pacing at times did seem a little on the slow side too. However, it is neatly filmed and has sumptuous costuming and settings. The cast are great, Olivia is very moving and Sir Toby is played by gusto if occasionally slightly over-played, but for me the standouts were the Viola/Sebastian of Gillian Jones, looking absolutely radiant, Geoffrey Rush whose Sir Andrew is note-perfect and the interesting Feste of Kelly Walker(played by a woman instead of the usual man, but this worked I felt). Overall, worth watching if not the best version. Sadly it is hard to find, and I would have asked to have borrowed my friends' copy to try and upload it or something if I hadn't since lost contact them, and having lost their contact details and them not understanding computers I have no means of trying. If you can find it though, give it a look. 7/10 Bethany Cox
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