Much Ado About Nothing Response- Zora Kesich
Much ado about Nothing Response
I had a hard time fully immersing myself into Much ado about Nothing because I did not understand much of the humor. As the play progressed, I was able to get a slightly better grasp on the language being used and the nature of the humor. There were some aspects of the film that I found quite moving. Some of the emotional scenes maintained the same intended emotions despite the fact that I may not have understood the language being used.
I really enjoyed Denzel Washington’s character, Don Pedro. I like Denzel Washington in almost everything I see him in as he is one of my favorite actors. To see a younger Denzel than I am used to seeing in recent years was entertaining and I thought his acting was strong.
I also really liked the character of Beatrice. I found her sharp wit and quick replies to maintain an enjoyable pace to many of the scenes she was in. However, I like that humor was not the sole aspect to her character. Rather, she was more developed than that. Beatrice’s development throughout the film one of my favorite parts. It is revealed that she fears vulnerability and makes excuses for not falling in love because of her great uneasiness regarding being rejected. I think this is something that almost anyone can relate to, which is what makes her character so effective. I think many individuals could see themselves in Beatrice– trying to balance between logic and what one’s heart wants. Beatrice has been hurt before and has put up a wall of defense mechanisms in response. Thus, the viewer can easily see why she behaves the way she does, and nothing she does throughout the film is out of character for her. I like that Benedick served as a male version of Beatrice. He had many identical personality traits and behaved the same way for many of the same reasons as she did. It was entertaining to watch their similarities and differences. Benedick comes off as dislikable initially. Many of his comments appear misogynistic and he seems to have an overly simplified view on life. However, his relationship with Beatrice, his mirror, makes him redeemable.
All in all, the film took me a while to get into, but once I was invested, I really enjoyed watching the characters evolve in their own unique ways, and situations set up in the opening scenes play themselves out through the end.