Film:  As You Like It

Studio:  BBC Films and HBO Films

Director:  Kenneth Branagh

Principal Actors:  Bryce Dallas Howard, David Oyelowo, Romola Garai

Release Date:  September 2006 (Europe) August 21, 2007 (USA – Premiere on HBO) 

Film length:  120 minutes

Rating:  PG

5 stars

Reviewed By: Deborah Ground Buckner  

We have waited a long time for Kenneth Branagh to reunite with William Shakespeare on screen.  With Branagh's adaptation of As You Like It, the Bard is back!  Beginning with the release of Henry V in 1989, Branagh led a resurgence of Shakespeare on film, including his adaptations of Much Ado About Nothing, Love's Labour's Lost, and Hamlet (just released on dvd!).

As You Like It has always seemed one of the more accessible of Shakespeare's plays.  It is a tale of adventure and romance, with a smattering of philosophy as well, that transcends time, remaining as true and relevant today as when Shakespeare first presented it.  Branagh proclaims it a story of “romantic love” and “simple life,” with the characters taking a “life-learning holiday.” 

The setting for the film is 19^th century Japan, offering a mix of British nobility and Japanese natives.  As is his tradition, Branagh's cast is a combination of nationalities and race, all sharing the common characteristic of providing a talented performance.  While Duke Frederick and his court enjoy the dance of a geisha, the duke's younger brother, Senior, stages a coup, resulting in the banishment of Frederick.  Both Frederick and Senior are played by Brian Blessed, something this reviewer didn't even realize until the credits!  In exile, Frederick takes residence in the Forest of Arden “where like the old Robin Hood of England” he lives with many young gentlemen flocking to him.  Duke Frederick's daughter, Rosalind (Bryce Dallas Howard) is permitted to stay in the court as a companion to Duke Senior's daughter, Celia (Romola Garai), but when the new duke realizes how popular his niece remains with the public, she is banished as well.  Celia vows to follow her cousin, and they plan an adventure of traveling in disguise, taking the court jester, Touchstone (Alfred Molina) along. 

Enter another family of battling brothers, Orlando (David Oyelowo) and Oliver (Adrian Lester) De Boys.  No love is lost between them, and Oliver plots to rid himself of Orlando, the younger brother who has arrived to claim his share of inheritance.  The first attempt of fratricide is a wrestling match between Orlando and Charles, wonderfully presented as a Sumo wrestler.  Here, Rosalind and Orlando meet for the first time. (Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?).  When Orlando prevails in the match, Oliver next plans to burn the stable where Orlando sleeps, but a servant's warning allows an escape. 

Celia, Rosalind, and Touchstone make their way to the forest and eventually encounter Orlando and his servant, Adam (Richard Briers).  As Branagh observes, “As soon as you go into the Forest of Arden,” there is a “transformative effect.”  All who enter the forest find love and happy endings, but not without mistaken identities, humor and brotherly reconciliations. 

A production of As You Like It rests on two “stars”:  Rosalind and the Forest of Arden.  Bryce Dallas Howard gives a wonderful performance as Rosalind, bringing a mix of beauty, refinement and humor to the role.  The Forest of Arden becomes a mystical paradise, with lovely camera shots of Japanese trees and flowers.  It is a welcoming environment, and here, Duke Frederick finds a happy living with his followers, bestowing kindness upon those in similar misfortune.  

Among Duke Frederick's followers, Kevin Kline deserves special mention.  He brings a perfect sardonic melancholy to Jacques and delivers “All the world's a stage” with the subtlety necessary to do justice to such a well-known passage. 

Tim Harvey provides a setting that creates the mood of British occupied Japan.  Sliding walls, meetings while seated on the floor, beautiful fans and parasols all give the feel of Japan without becoming excessive.  Likewise, Patrick Doyle's score with lilting Japanese melodies enriches the setting of the film.  (Doyle also appears as Amiens).   

It is a delight to see Branagh “regulars” Brian Blessed, Richard Briers, Richard Clifford, Jimmy Yuill, and Gerard Horan together on screen again.  All that is lacking is Branagh himself, but a little treat in the epilogue gives a reminder of the man behind the camera.  AS YOU can see, we LIKE IT very much!