Incomplete thoughts on "As You Like It"

As You Like It by James Watts (1736-1819)

I have a few questions I'd really like to ask someone about Shakespeare's As You Like It.

I love the play and I've read it countless times. (Partially because we own a small, cute, blue, Yale hardback edition and it's fun to hold and sniff.)
It has been a source of sorrow in my life that I cannot find anything by Peter Leithart on this play.

Some of the themes are obvious. Brothers and family (Oliver and Orlando and the two dukes). Totally confused romantic relationships. Loyalty. And the most striking and obvious-- the contrasts between all the couples at the end. Act V, Scene IV is quite the diverse line up. There are a strange variety of view points and reverence for love and marriage throughout the play.

But what exactly is Shakespeare saying with all this?

And what is with Jaques? I could literally be him. (Except for his famous "All the World's a Stage" speech in Act II, Scene VII which I would not have the genius to say.)

All the same...I kind of have this feeling that his conclusion is not what it should be. To leave at the marriage dance and feast hardly seems like a generally-condoned activity in Shakespeare... However appealing finding some abandoned cave and reading and thinking might sound. ;-)

Touchstone and Jaques seem to be contrasted often and both seem to be a bit unbalanced. I'd like someone really Shakespeare-smart to tell me what's going on here.

The dialogue is very clever and snappy which makes the play move quickly with plenty of laughs. Although there are more characters than some of the other comedies which make it a bit more confusing, I think As You Like It is good introduction to Shakespeare because it is just so funny.

I have only watched Kenneth Branagh's 2006 adaption. My sister and I watched it alone a couple years ago and loved it. We then told the rest of our family they had to see it. One night we all sat down with another family and watched it. Susannah and I laughed merrily through the entire movie while pretty much everyone else sat dead-pan. Apparently it wasn't a hit. Maybe they were disappointed if they were expecting another Much Ado.

I do realize that the movie is a little more random then Branagh's other adaptations-- partly because of the whole Japanese setting, partly because that's the way the play is written, and partly because Branagh gives it a funny, wacky flavor.

Random is my humor. I loved it. A random Buddha sitting in the middle of the forest? Who doesn't love that? ;-)

I also realize that the whole girl dressing up as a boy and then pretending to be a girl is weird and kind of awkward...especially due to our unfortunate exposure to homosexuality and America's current stand in this issue. We're pretty touchy. But since this is so obviously not what is going on, I don't think this should be a problem.

Audrey, and especially Audrey and Touchstone together, do add some unnecessary material. The only other iffy content I can remember is the wrestling scene which could be rated R for disturbing images. (Charles happens to be a sumo wrestler. Nasty. But if you have a sick sense of humor, like me, you will laugh.)

The cast is good and familiar. Bryce Dallas Howard is excellent and Romola Garai works better in Shakespeare for me than her other movies. I could listen to Brian Blessed all day because he plays Jean Valjean in Focus on the Family's Les Miz. Keven Kline, Alfred Molina, and Richard Briers play their roles wonderfully.

Patrick Doyle produced another amazing soundtrack as well as acting the part of the singer in the play.

Overall the movie has a 100% Kenneth Branagh feel (casting, music, takes, everything). Like Much Ado the movie is beautiful and mostly filmed outdoors. Branagh never appears but you do hear him say "and...cut!" at the very end after Rosalind's clever epilogue.

There is one thing I'd like to ask Branagh. Why did he make the shepherd, Corin, play the priest as well? I have enough faith in the way he uses imagery and details to portray his spin on Shakespeare (or Mary Shelley for that matter) that I don't believe he was just short on actors.

Hmm... I guess I mostly just have questions about this play and movie and not much intelligent things to say. ;-)

Overall, the movie totally resonated with me. Perhaps partly why I loved it was it's randomness, but I really think it's a well-done movie. Some of running-around-in-the-woods scenes I can totally can see my sister and I playing when were younger...of course with out all the clever themes and poetry. ;-) Maybe that's why it seemed normal.

I do love the story though. Many of our most well-known Shakespeare quotes come from As You Like It.

Thanks for reading. I love discussion, so comment and let me know what you think of it. I'd also love to hear about other film versions.

I charge you to like as much of this review as pleases you. :-)

Miss Pickwickian