Andrea Yarnell

British Literature before 1800

11/4/11

Twelfth Night Movie--Extra Credit

Watching Shakespeare’s story Twelfth Night in a movie was very enjoyable. I really like this story and it was fun to see a different version of one of my favorite movies, She’s The Man, which is a modern day Twelfth Night. The acting was a lot better than I was expecting and the overall production of the movie was great.

I am a fan of Helena Bonham Carter, but seeing her as Olivia made me a bigger fan and I think she was the most enjoyable to watch. Her snobbish ways and the way she treated Malvolio was funny and she did a great job. I also liked watching on the screen how Olivia acted towards Viola (or Cesario) because it was always comical. The way that Helena Bonham Carter was over the top and very evident with her feelings toward Viola was entertaining and interesting to see done in real life. The characters Sir Andrew and Sir Toby were also very funny to watch but they sort of let me down. They were not as over the top drunk or belligerent as some of our interpretations in the class. I pictured them to be more obnoxious but in the movie they were quiet and not super loud.

I thought the whole movie was very well done and did Shakespeare justice to his story. I really like Twelfth Night and this movie was easy to understand and follow even in Shakespearian language. The ending was very good when Viola and Sebastian reunite and made me very happy and even tear up! It was a good ending and the actors did a great job.