A Movie Review of "The Tempest"

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Julie Taymor‘s adaptation of Shakespeare‘s last play, The Tempest, is not the first to be made. Nor is it the first time Prospero becomes a Prospera, It is, however, the first time that the play-turned-movie is filled to the brim with excessive CGI effects and driving electric guitar background music. The script that the movie is based onis Shakespeare‘s last solo piece of work before he retires from the spotlight. It is a bittersweet tribute to the end of his playwright career; it’s almost as if he’s sayinghis farewells to his audience through the characters of the play.

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Packed with numerous “life-lessons”, the script provides the reader with insight on some of life’s most challenging questions. Some of these lessons, however> are not as obvious as you think they would be. Reading the play is similar to an Easter egg hunt. The reader has to search and dig in order to find the true meaning behind the words on the paper.

The movie starts with Prospera conjuring a tempest to swallow the ship containing Antonio (her brother, the Duke of Milan), Alonso (King of Naples), Sebastian (Alonso’s brother), Ferdinand (Alonso’s son), Gonzalo and various mariners. Right off the bat, the director provides an overly dramatic scene located on the deck of the ship.

The crew is scrambling, the Boatswain is attempting to save the ship and the courtiers are meddling. This absolute chaos is literally doused and drowned, providing excess drama as the crew has buckets of water thrown at them off set.

It’s then revealed that this scene all has something to do with Prospera’s “big plan" to exact revenge on those who have usurped her. Justice is the most obvious theme, and is brought up throughout the movie.1t starts with Prospera wanting revenge and ending with her showing mercy to the men. This reoccurringtopic answers the question “Should revenge be taken upon those who have wronged you?" with “No, forgiveness is virtue", Despite the overdramatic beginning, the movie effectively gets its message across, especially when Prospera, played by Helen Mirren, is told by Ariel that if he were human, he would pity Sebastian, Antonio and Alonso, The music, along with that sudden realization on Prospera’s face seals the dealt.

The movie can check off justice on their checklist of things that must be portrayed. It was a delight to me when Caliban made his appearance in the movie. Him being my favourite character, I was skeptical as to how he would be portrayed. Djimon Hounsou nails down Caliban’s spiteful attitude, painful movements and wild, spontaneous actions perfectly. He also brings forth a new perspectiveza softer and more vulnerable side of Caliban that many readers may not have noticed if they read only the original script. This side is definitely shown at the end of the movie, after Prospera tells Caliban to leave for the final time This brings into perspective the theme of man and beast Caliban can easily be described as a beast and Prospera as human, Shakespeare may be asking the audience if man can nurture a beast, or if the nature of the beast can’t be changed. It’s not until the end of the movie does Prospera realized that Caliban may be the way he is because she has forced him to be like that due to countless threats and punishments. Caliban may also realize that he is the one to blame for Prospera‘s hatred against him, after all, all mothers would be furious is someone tries to rape their daughter.

This movie could not have found a better Caliban. Characters that were lacking include Sebastian and Antonio. They just didn’t stick out enough for me, which is important because they are essentially, the movie’s villains. Their crude and holier-than-thou attitude that makes them who they are is diminished, making them more annoying than plotting What saves the two characters are the actors that play them, Allan Cumming as Sebastian and Chris Cooper as Antonio, The flow of speech between the two schemers portrays them as partner in crime, which is more than entirely accurate. Using Sebastian and Antonio, Shakespeare is able to paint a clear message: the thirst for power will be the downfall of even the most powerful men. This hunger actually lands Antonio into the predicament that he‘s in during the play; stranded on an island as a pawn under Prospera’s magic, Not only does he not realize feel guilt towards the fact that he destroyed his own flesh and blood, he actively encourages Sebastian to do the same.

The whispered discussion between the two friends is one of the favorite scenes in the movie, It showsjust how ruthless some people are in order to obtain personal gain. Overall, this movie really boils down into two sections: the actual plot and the excess effects. If you cut away those effects, the movie is mediocre at best. The director imposes too much of her own ideas of how this play should be adapted, many important scenes are reduced and even cut out (the masque, Prospera’s final monologue, etc”) and there is just something lacking that you can‘t put your finger on. The visual effects, however, provide a beautiful accompaniment to the original script by providing visual aids to a rich story. This is really what Shakespeare hoped to capture in his final play, How is reality really just an illusion? The simplest way you can interpret this would be in relation to theatre. While the play/movie is able to draw the audience‘s attention and make them believe, even for a few moments, that what they are watching is reality, it really isjust an illusion.

All the special effects, words and actors aren‘t reall This can also be applied to life, which is what Prospera does in her infamous speech “We are such stuff dreams are made on”, It’s arguable that life is also an illusion, that our reality isn’t eternal. Eventually, we are going to die and our life will disappear, just like the illusion of theatre and cinema Shakespeare may be trying to tell his audience that it‘s time for him to end the illusions he’s been creating and to start living his own before it‘s too late Overall, the movie does a good job getting across various themes found in the script created by Shakespeare. While it is lacking in some areas, it was ultimately the actors and gorgeous effects that saved the day and produced a quaint companion to the Tempest I would definitely recommend following along with the book while watching the movie to obtain that perfect balance of visual aid and colourful Shakespearean language.