Every highschooler knows that Shakespeare is hard to understand. But that's probably because we read his work, instead of seeing it as it was meant to be seen, on the stage (or onscreen, now that we've evolved that far). To actually see a Shakespearean story brought to life is one of the most excellent bits of entertainment ever, and Twelfth Night is a perfect example.
I've seen Shakespeare played both on stage in England, and on screen, in such forms as Kenneth Branaugh's Much Ado About Nothing (another very excellent movie), and the modernized, Leonardo DiCaprio-filled Romeo & Juliet. I'm here to say that Twelfth Night does its duty, and measures up to the other films' greatness.
It is a romantic comedy, I suppose, at least that's what Blockbuster says it is, and a very good one at that. The story line is as follows: Two twins, bother and sister, are separated at sea in a storm, and both think the other is dead. They both land on shore in Illyria, a country which is at war with their own. In order to preserve themselves, the sister, Viola (Imogen Stubbs) dresses like a man and places herself in the service of the count Orsino, who she then falls in love with.
The count is in love with someone else, though, Countess Olivia (Helena Bonham-Carter), and sends Viola, now known as Cesario, to woo (woo?) her for him. However, Olivia falls in love with Viola, thinking she's a man. Viola tries to tell her she's in love with someone else, but Olivia is a very...er...persistant woman.
Enter Sebastian, the brother that Viola thought was dead. He looks exactly like Cesario, and mayhem ensues. He turns up at Olivia's pad, and she takes him for Cesario, he thinks he's dreaming...et cetera. Orsino thinks that Cesario betrayed him, Cesario doesn't have a clue what's going on, and Sebastian is in horny heaven. Meanwhile the servants are wrecking havoc upon one another.
Anyway, as is the tradition with Romantic Comedies, everyone ends up happy, and Viola can stop taping her boobs. Which she had been doing for three months. My, but that must've hurt.
The movie is filmed in beautiful, harsh Cornwall, and the costumes are wonderful. Ben Kingsley entertains as Feste, the Fool, and Nigel Hawthorne makes an excellent Malvolio (the steward).
My advice, rent this movie even if you're not a Shakespeare fan. The language is still archaic, but the acting is wonderful.