Twelfth Night Extra Credit

Trevor Nun’s 1996 version of Twelfth Night did adequately portray the overall entity of the play, but failed when it came to the specific characteristics of the characters and the relationship between characters. Toby Stephen’s portrayal of Duke Orsino was not as good as I expected it to be. The movie portrayed Orsino as being temperamental instead of overly emotional as it is depicted in the play. Another difference from the play to the movie was the idea of Orsino and Viola‘s (Ceaserio) relationship. I felt that they had too much chemistry while Viola was disguised as a man. For example, in the scene where Feste is singing to them, Viola and Orsino almost kiss even though Orsino thinks that she is a man. I never got this feeling while reading this specific scene in the play.

Another relationship between characters that the movie did not portray well was the relationship between Olivia and Feste. In the movie these two characters have a relationship that reminded me too much of a relationship between family members. For example, there is one scene where Olivia and Feste are sitting on the couch very close almost like they are siblings rather than an aristocrat and servant. I saw the relationship totally different in the play. While reading, I got the connotation that Olivia and Feste were on good terms. In the beginning scenes Shakespeare portrays Olivia as being annoyed by Feste rather than on good terms with him. I also felt that the movie did not portray Olivia’s character well. This version made Olivia seem desperate and insecure in some scenes. A key example would be when she throws herself at Ceasario during their second meeting. In the play this scene is played out with Olivia being more reserved not desperate.

The characteristics of Sir Andrew were also skewed from that of the play. In the play he was portrayed as someone who was very desperate for Olivia but he was more temperamental. While in the movie he was seen as meek and emotional. To me it almost seemed like the movie switched some of the key characteristics of Orsino and Sir Andrew. Even though the movie had trouble portraying the individual characteristics of Sir Andrew, it did do a good job at depicting the relationship between Sir Andrew and Sir Toby. Just like their relationship in the play, their relationship in the movie was illustrated as over the top, foolish, and extreme. The movie did a great job of depicting the drunken scenes between the two men. The scene that stands out the most to me would be when Sir Toby plays the piano and Sir Andrew starts dancing around the room and they get caught by Malvolio.

While the movie did not adequately portray individual characteristics and relationship between characters, it did not also do well in other areas. It had many added/transitional scenes that in my opinion made the movie drag on. It also did not use clothing and the props that fit the time period, which confused and frustrated me.. For example, the soldiers that capture Antonio are armed with guns not swords. Another example would be that when Viola is disguising herself as a man she is dressed in military clothing; but in the play there is no reference to Orsino and his court being in the military. Even though I mostly had a negative review of the movie, I do feel that it helped me understand the play better by allowing me to visually see the play.