Python Hyena Twelfth Night or What You Will (1996): Dir: Trevor Nunn / Cast: Imogen Stubbs, Helena Bonham Carter, Ben Kingsley, Nigel Hawthorne, Tobey Stephens: Art house film with stunning photography and tremendous art direction. Based upon William Shakespeare's comedy about mistaken identities when a shipwreck separates a brother and sister. When ashore they discover the Duke's court. Imogen Stubbs dons a fake moustache and a uniform to resemble a male. When her brother ventures for the court Stubbs has difficulty maintaining her dignity especially when Helena Bonham Carter mistakes her for the man she loves. Hilarious outcome voices how foolish we can appear through circumstance. Director Trevor Nunn has fun with the humour while Stubbs is funny but hardly passes as a male. Carter is hilarious in a lustful supporting role. Ben Kingsley is charming as a travelling musician who is able to make sense of it all through observation. Nigel Hawthorne is hilarious particularly when he realizes that he is the victim of a bad prank. Tobey Stephens heads one of the courts that Stubbs plays off as naïve until the truth unravels and humiliation sets in. Whether tragedy or comedy Shakespeare provoke us with both but here the adaptation is one of the best looking and funniest of the comedies. Here is a worthwhile Shakespearean comedy about the fool in us all. Score: 9 / 10

TheLittleSongbird I have been reading and loving Shakespeare since year 6 of primary school. At first I didn't understand the language, but the many discussions we had about it while reading aloud improved my understanding and didn't waver my interest. Twelfth Night mayn't have the most plausible story of all the Shakespeare plays, but it is still a lot of fun.This Twelfth Night is more than worthy. It is not thr best Shakespeare film, not like Othello, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet, but it does boast a strong cast and impeccable production values.If I had any criticisms against this Twelfth Night, they would be that as well shot and as interesting as the beginning scene was, part of me found it unnecessary compared to the rest of the film and it didn't add much to the storytelling, and also it did feel a little sugar-coated towards the end.Criticisms aside, this is a very beautiful-looking Twelfth Night, with the luscious photography, autumnal imagery and scenery and colourful, sumptuous costumes. The music is full of memorable tunes that also do well to enhance each scene.Trevor Nunn's direction is excellent, the dialogue is intelligently woven and delivered, the story while condensed still maintains the play's fun and spirit, all the relationships are intact and done convincingly and the pace is smart and snappy.The acting is just great. Toby Stephens deserves credit for breathing life to Orsino, when he could easily have been bland and Imogen Stubbs is radiant. In the more comic roles, Malvolio, Sir Andrew and especially Sir Toby are hoots, and Imelda Staunton is a memorable Maria. My favourites here are Helena Bonham Carter and Ben Kingsley as Olivia and Feste, Carter is note perfect and Kingsley gives perhaps his best ever support turn.All in all, a lot of fun and very worthy. 8/10 Bethany Cox

aptfull If Shakespeare were this dead, we'd all be reading Ben Jonson instead.Pretty pictures and big names don't guarantee the illusion of life.We need people to move, to have energy, to make us care about what happens to them. It's a comedy, remember? This was more like a glossy coffee-table picture book of fabulous house interiors. An uninhabited house.Shakespeare wrote a whole raft of interesting people.I wanted to get interested in these people up there on the screen, but they were all on life-support, like a group coma punctuated by an occasional wake."O for a muse of fire!" Or at least a director with some.

joliefille411 I was introduced to this delight in the 10th grade during World History as an implementation of my teacher's favorite instructing method- stick in a movie and assign an outline. Dark room, people whispering or making out in the corner, dull movie: this class was normally known as Nap Time, but not that day. In went the tape and out came a story full of vivacity, charm, hilarity and heart.The story is of a girl, Viola, who loses her brother and disguises herself as him to find work. She falls in love with the Duke, who has sent her to woo a countess by the name of Olivia, who has lost her brother as well. Of course, Olivia falls in love with Viola, thinking she is a young man. Viola now must reject one love because she is a woman and be rejected by another love that believes she is a man. What to do? Throw more people into the mix! Olivia, being a countess and therefore rich as anything, has no lack of other admirers from the insanely stupid Sir Andrew Aguecheeck that her uncle encourages for sport to her pious steward, Malvolio. Each person vies for her attentions while she goes insane over the one "man" she cannot have. Enter Sebastian, Viola's twin brother who *gasp* didn't die after all. Much confusion and laughter later, Viola is finally able to shed her "masculine usurped attire" and profess her love for the now-frazzled Duke. Don't worry about Olivia, she gets to keep a copy, the ever-willing Sebastian.Watching this movie the first time, I could hardly believe it was written 400 years ago. The story relates flawlessly to a modern audience. Watching it for the hundredth time after I bought it, I am still captivated by the genius adaption. The script is so funny and intertwines plot lines seamlessly. The actors actually know what they are trying to say, which is half of conveying the meaning of the "difficult" language. Even if I did not understand every word, I would get the meaning with help from the incredible acting.Imogene Stubbs is beautiful as Viola- she really makes a very cute, albeit effeminate "boy." I felt the most for her, especially when she tells the Duke the story of her love for him under the guise of a "sister." Toby Stephens as the Duke was quite handsome, and made the character more likable. If it had been another person, I would have wondered what in the world Viola saw in the whiny, fanciful man, but he was quite suave and charming.Olivia-Bonham-Carter shone as the almost bi-polar Olivia. She snapped from the pit of despair to the heights of love within a scene, but invited you to laugh with her in giddiness rather than snort in disbelief.Ben Kingsly was perfection as Feste, probably the best performance of the movie. He was a fool, but he knew it. He gave a performance of simple farce with a current of keen insight underneath.The others, Mel Smith, Imelda Staunton, Nigel Hawthorne, Richard Grant, Steven Mackintosh and Nicholas Farrell all provided excellent comedic support, tinged with the faintest hint of melancholy that brought just the right mix.Whether you're a fan of Shakespeare or not, Twelfth Night is without a doubt an amazing experience. It brings laughter, excitement and maybe even a misty eye with each viewing. Go rent it if you haven't seen it and if you have, pull it out and treat yourself tonight. I know I will.