There's something magical about Shakespeare's comedies. Sure his tragedies are sometimes a little too tragic, and his histories are often a bit too boring, but the best of his comedies can truly make you laugh and cry and leave the theater with a smile on your face. "Twelfth Night" is one of Shakespeare's lesser known comedies, but that in no way implies that it is any less enchanting, as the new film adaptation proves.
While at first slow and confusing, the film ultimately pays off in its joyous (and, some might argue, trite) conclusion. It focuses on a pair of twins who become separated in a shipwreck and how their lives eventually reconverge. Lost in the foreign land of Illyria, Viola (Imogen Stubbs) disguises herself as a man in order to become a loyal courtier of Duke Orsino (Toby Stephens), whom she loves. But Orsino is in love with the fair Olivia (Helena Bonham Carter), who in turn falls deeply in love with Viola's male facade. Viola's long-lost twin brother (Stephen Mackintosh), who looks startlingly like Viola herself, shows up, and things get out of control. It's a wacky comedy of errors where one mistaken identity is frustratingly piled on top of another until the whole circus comes crashing down in a sugary sweet happy ending.
This is not to say that the entire film is focused on this single, albeit complex, farce. The scenes are populated by an incredible cast in smaller roles that provide subplot, subtext and humor. Low-brow comedy flows out of Mel Smith as Sir Toby Belch, while his partner-in-crime Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Richard E. Grant) offsets the humor with pangs of sorrow and lost love. Nigel Hawthorne is perfect as Olivia's pompous servant Malvolio, and Ben Kingsley is absolutely angelic as the minstrel-like Feste.
"Twelfth Night" is directed, not surprisingly, with broad strokes by stage-spectacle veteran Trevor Nunn ("Les Misérables"). As would be expected, the film does not thrive on subtleties. Fortunately, Nunn assembled such a talented cast that it seems as though little direction was actually necessary.
What is surprising coming from a stage director is that, because of a limited budget, the film is lacking in epic Shakespearean splendor. Instead, "Twelfth Night" is full of rich, intimate photography, almost out of place in a farcical comedy. Indeed, although it experiences mood swings throughout, the film is foremost an often hilarious romp through conventional, uncontroversial territory. And although the first hour or so may seem moderately confusing, the payoff is nothing short of immense joy.