11/22/96
MOVIE REVIEW: Twelfth Night
A deeper, less funny 'Twelfth Night'

By JIM SEAVOR
Journal-Bulletin Arts Writer

*** (out of five)
Starring Helena Bonham Carter, Nigel Hawthorne, Ben Kingsley, Imelda Staunton, Imogen Stubbs, Stephen Mackintosh. A Fine Line Features release written by Trevor Nunn based on Shakespeare's play and directed by Nunn. Rated PG, adult themes. Running time: 125 minutes.

You can't claim that Trevor Nunn rushes into filmmaking.

The man who headed the Royal Shakespeare Company for 18 years and is artistic director (designate) of the Royal National Theatre, made his first film, Hedda, in 1975. His second film, Lady Jane, came in 1986. Now he's directed his version of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

And in his hands, this tale of love lost and found, mistaken identity and gender bending is a melancholy comedy, with the emphasis on melancholy. He's moved the tale to the 1890s, with their dark rooms and heavy fabrics. Even a sunny day seems foreboding.

A quick recap of the story:

Twins Viola and Sebastian are separated in a shipwreck. She, believing he is dead, disguises herself as a man and is taken in by the lovesick Count Orsino, who sends her to woo Olivia in his name.

Olivia falls for what she thinks is a young man, which is a bit awkward for Viola, who's falling in love with Orsino.

Also on hand are the bibulous Sir Toby Belch, the weak Sir Andrew Aguecheek and the maid Maria. Toss in the ever-so-proper butler Malvolio and the fool Feste, and you can have a heady mix.

But here the head falls a bit flat at times as Nunn goes for the emotional underpinnings of the characters. This increases their humanity but dampens the humor.

Helena Bonham Carter is an appealing Olivia, who keeps Orsino at bay while mourning the deaths of her father and brother. She quickly sheds her black, however, after meeting what she thinks is a young man from Orsino's court. Suddenly she is the wooer, chasing a very reluctant target.

The first meeting between Olivia and Viola is a high-spirited battle of wits, with Carter and Imogen Stubbs relishing the chance to bounce Shakespeare's words off each other.

For a good deal of the time, though, Stubbs must look pensive as she mourns what she believes is the death of her brother and pines for Orsino.

Nigel Hawthorne has a firm grip on Malvolio, the major-domo with eyes for his lady and contempt for those beneath him. Looking a bit like Bela Lugosi, he captures the arrogance of the man while providing just enough softness to make him likable -- to us. (And Nunn provides one marvelous gag for him when Malvolio checks his watch against a sundial and corrects the sundial.)

Unfortunately, the fact that we rather like him makes his treatment at the hands of Sir Toby, Andrew and Maria seem all the more harsh.

Ben Kingsley is the sharp-eyed and -tongued Feste who sees the foolishness in others. He's always ready with a song, but you have to pay the piper.

There can be a problem fitting Shakespeare's clowns into the action. Get involved in the principal plot and they're an interruption. Follow them and the principals may suffer.

Here, Trevor Nunn's take on the tale makes them more of an interruption than balanced comic relief. It's as if a comedy of manners were invaded by burlesque comics from another production. It isn't until well into the film, when the sun finally begins to show some warmth, that Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Maria seem to really be part of the same story.

Of course, this being a tale of love, the darkness does lift. Unrequited love is requited, and all's well that ends well.