Love's Labour's Lost poster & wallpaper

Adrian Lester, Alicia Silverstone, Kenneth Branagh

Having taken Shakespeare at his word on Hamlet (i.e., not cutting a single syllable out of a very long play), Kenneth Branagh selects a more radical approach with Love's Labour's Lost. ...( read more  read more... )Here the prolific director-star weeds out much of the play's dialogue and adds songs and dances of a decidedly modern bent. The King of Navarre (Alessandro Nivola, Nicolas Cage's wacko brother in Face/Off) and his three comrades (Branagh, Matthew Lillard, Adrian Lester) take a vow: no womanly distractions while they pursue their studies. Ah, but at that very moment, floating down a magical studio-built river, is the queen of France (Alicia Silverstone), accompanied by three ladies-in-waiting. You do the math. Branagh has set the tale on the eve of the Second World War, which allows for the inclusion of vintage pop songs, including "Cheek to Cheek," "The Way You Look Tonight," and a rousing chorus of "There's No Business Like Show Business," led by--who else?--Nathan Lane. The fact that most of the cast members are not accomplished song-and-dance folk is clearly meant to charm, but the results are spotty at best. Perhaps the most dynamic performer is Natascha McElhone (memorable from Ronin), whose aristocratic bearing and bottomless eyes lend a gravity to the material that is otherwise absent from Branagh's twinkly staging. The play contains some of Shakespeare's loveliest paeans to the language of love, yet Branagh seems to be in a hurry to juice everything up lest the audience lose interest. The labor shows. --Robert Horton

Flixster Users

47% liked it

2,983 ratings

Critics

49% liked it

61 critics

PG, 94 min.

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

Release Date: June 9, 2000

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DVD Release Date: December 19, 2000

Stats: 172 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (172)

  • ironclad1609
    June 15, 2009
    ironclad1609
    One of the kind of films that you wished you could love more than you actually do. Because they don't really do anything wrong. They take Shakespeare's play and put it into the 1930s musical era, with all the singing, dancing and water ballet that comes with it. The songs are mor...( read more)e or less familiar, some performances really fun and good, others somewhat boring. The cast is great, only Matthew Lillard feels like the odd man out, the set pieces and design rather lovely. It's hard to say why the film didn't work for me anyway. Sometimes it was hard to keep track why things were happening the way they turned out, and I usually didn't have a problem with Shakespeare's language. I felt a bit let down after all, only the ending was rather sweet. I suppose it's one for Musical or Shakespeare fanatics, everyone else feel free to skip. Sadly.
  • binky013
    December 3, 2008
    binky013
    Okay, so this Branagh go at Shakespeare may leave out a lot of the Bard's words, but the spirit is definitely there. Strictly speaking, in the classic sense, comedy does not necessarily equal ha-ha funny. To put it in truly simplistic terms, comedy has only to follow a certain ...( read more)path. With tragedy in the classic sense, there is the trajectory of rise and fall, whereas with comedy, there is fall and rise -- with or without yucks.

    One need only compare Branagh's attempt with that of the BBC's complete dramatic works of Shakespeare attempt, to see that Branagh has infused the play with the proper spirit, the lively humor it should have. The BBC attempt is so droningly unpleasant -- although much truer to the text -- that it feels in the aftermath like a disheartening tragedy.

    As I've said before, I hope Branagh does all of Shakespeare's plays before he blows out the candle. Every one of his productions breathes vibrant bright life into the plays, closer to the text or not. I think if Shakespeare saw this adaptation, he'd love it.
  • mwilliams078
    May 24, 2008
    mwilliams078
    Love's Labour's Lost, is a good musical directed by Kenneth Branagh. A light haerted musical that takes place in the 1930's where things are care free. A few men become attreacted to a few dames and it continues with many nice dance numbers.
  • flynnparadox
    September 18, 2006
    flynnparadox
    Big, bold movie musical version of Shakespeare's comedy is good but not for everyone. The point-of-no-return moment is the first song: if you're not into it by the end of the song, you may as well stop watching.
  • ileo
    November 9, 2007
    ileo
    This is an interesting film in the Shakespeare Company collection. Love the music. Love the noir-esque!
  • cleighs
    December 29, 2008
    cleighs
    I've seen enough to give it two thumbs down.
  • xxxcli213xxx
    December 10, 2008
    xxxcli213xxx
    no thanks not my kinda thing
  • Soundsofmadness
    October 17, 2008
    Soundsofmadness
    No thankyou - Not interested
  • munchnerkindl
    September 15, 2008
    munchnerkindl
    i kind of want to see this movie...but from clips i've seen it doesn't look that promising. The only redeeming quality so far is Nathan Lane.
  • JHeafitz
    March 31, 2008
    JHeafitz
    The colors are nice. The music is nice but this piece is not as good as Brannaugh's other productions.

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Critic Reviews

January 1, 2000
A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Even though Love's Labour's Lost is, in showbiz terms, a turkey stuffed with chestnuts, you wouldn't trade it for a pot of gold. full review

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It's so escapist it escapes even from itself. full review

January 1, 2000
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Love's Labour's Lost is a stink bomb of a movie. full review

View more Love's Labour's Lost reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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Love's Labour's Lost Trivia

  • Which film version of a Shakespeare play directed by Kenneth Branagh included songs from great American musicals?  Answer »
  • Who played Shakespeare's Hamlet (1996), which also had Kate Winslet, Billy Crystal, Julie Christie, Robin Williams. He also did Much Ado About Nothing(1993), Wild Wild West (1999), Henry V(1989), Love's Labours Lost (2000)and Othello(1995). Name this Irish born, British actor.  Answer »
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