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As You Like It
Jan. 3rd, 2025 09:38 amWe read As You Like It in British Lit in high school. (As I’ve been writing these reviews, I’m realizing that I read a ton of Shakespeare in high school.) Sweet Celia abandons her father’s court in order to go into exile with her beloved cousin Rosalind, who repays Celia’s loving devotion by ditching her in order to woo some guy by cracking misogynistic jokes with him. Thanks! I hate it!
However, I liked Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado about Nothing so much that I ended up watching his As You Like It too. But I remember nothing about it, except that it was set in 19th century Japan, but all the actors were white, but IIRC not in a way that the film ever comments on or explains. (Are they missionaries or something? I have no idea.) I did not feel this was a successful transposition of Shakespeare in time and space.
But people who love Shakespeare always seem to love Rosalind, so I thought, okay, let’s give the National Theater’s version a try. Maybe third time’s the charm.
Nope!
Or, okay, the production has many good points. Fascinated by the decision to present the first part of the play (at court) as an office and then have a gigantic pulley pull up all the tables and chairs so they’re hanging down over the stage, and the hanging skeins of furniture are the Forest of Arden. Weird and interesting. Love the people sitting among the chair forest providing the sound effects, love the scene with the sheep where the sheep are just people in white sweaters, love all the scenes with the singing. (Is it shape-note singing? I don’t know what kind it is but it’s gorgeous.)
But Rosalind remains a gigantic dick and I can’t stand her. As Celia says, “You have simply misus'd our sex in your love-prate,” but worse than spouting misogynistic bullshit at Orlando (who doesn’t even agree with her! They’re not even bonding over it! So what’s the point?) is the way that she treats Phoebe. She harangues Phoebe for not loving the shepherd Silvius, like Phoebe owes it to Silvius to return his devotion, then tricks Phoebe into marrying Silvius by promising to marry Phoebe “if ever I marry woman.” What a fucking asshole.
As with the Problem of Claudio, this is too engrained in the play to really take it out. But unlike Much Ado about Nothing, there is simply not enough that I like about As You Like It for me to keep bothering with it. There’s simply so much other Shakespeare that I could be watching.
***
It occurs to me that maybe the reason I keep putting off Twelfth Night is because I’ve been subconsciously afraid Viola will be just as much of a dick as Rosalind. Readers! Do you think that this is so?
However, I liked Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado about Nothing so much that I ended up watching his As You Like It too. But I remember nothing about it, except that it was set in 19th century Japan, but all the actors were white, but IIRC not in a way that the film ever comments on or explains. (Are they missionaries or something? I have no idea.) I did not feel this was a successful transposition of Shakespeare in time and space.
But people who love Shakespeare always seem to love Rosalind, so I thought, okay, let’s give the National Theater’s version a try. Maybe third time’s the charm.
Nope!
Or, okay, the production has many good points. Fascinated by the decision to present the first part of the play (at court) as an office and then have a gigantic pulley pull up all the tables and chairs so they’re hanging down over the stage, and the hanging skeins of furniture are the Forest of Arden. Weird and interesting. Love the people sitting among the chair forest providing the sound effects, love the scene with the sheep where the sheep are just people in white sweaters, love all the scenes with the singing. (Is it shape-note singing? I don’t know what kind it is but it’s gorgeous.)
But Rosalind remains a gigantic dick and I can’t stand her. As Celia says, “You have simply misus'd our sex in your love-prate,” but worse than spouting misogynistic bullshit at Orlando (who doesn’t even agree with her! They’re not even bonding over it! So what’s the point?) is the way that she treats Phoebe. She harangues Phoebe for not loving the shepherd Silvius, like Phoebe owes it to Silvius to return his devotion, then tricks Phoebe into marrying Silvius by promising to marry Phoebe “if ever I marry woman.” What a fucking asshole.
As with the Problem of Claudio, this is too engrained in the play to really take it out. But unlike Much Ado about Nothing, there is simply not enough that I like about As You Like It for me to keep bothering with it. There’s simply so much other Shakespeare that I could be watching.
***
It occurs to me that maybe the reason I keep putting off Twelfth Night is because I’ve been subconsciously afraid Viola will be just as much of a dick as Rosalind. Readers! Do you think that this is so?
