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I saw Love's Labour's Lost at a screening on Monday night with the director/star Kenneth Branagh present to introduce the film and a few of his cast members. Mr. Branagh called his new movie musical "deeply silly" and urged the audience to sing and dance along if they felt so moved. Well, nobody danced in the aisles, because we were all much too absorbed in the enchantments taking place on screen. The audience was most responsive, applauding each musical number and laughing spontaneously at the antics of Mr. Branagh and his charming cast. The movie is dazzling, romantic, captivating and a bit what the French ladies in the Bard's story would call "triste." Mr. Branagh tells that story through ravishing visual images, but honors the text. He has worked well with his younger cast members to bring out their gifts and as for the veterans like Nathan Lane, Timothy Spall, Geraldine McEwan and Richard Briers -- they are all in top form. Mr. Spall gets my Old Trouper Award with Nathan Lane as a close second. Mr. Branagh has chosen the melodies with care to illustrate the bittersweet tale -- and when Mr. Lane leads the cast in There's No Business Like Show Business, it is magic time. Be sure to catch this charming new film -- you will leave the theatre floating like a feather and will find yourself breaking into song for days afterwards.
score 10/10
tearose-2 7 June 2000
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0617990/ |
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16-11-2020 02:01:12