In this 2005 adaption, Shakespeare's comedy 'The Taming of the Shrew' is brought to the small screen by the BBC in an interesting but over-all flat take on the controversial classic. Directed by David Richards, this modern spin of one of the lesser known Shakespearean plays deals with Katherine Minola (Shirley Henderson), a British MP who hopes to become Party Leader and eventually win the role of Prime Minister. However, Katherine is widely viewed as an "ugly, bad-tempered... sad, strange screw-up" and her violent nature and rash behaviour puts this dream at risk from the outset of the film. In order to overcome her reputation, Katherine is told she must marry to soften her public image, a notion she completely ignores until she meets the charming Petruchio (Rufus Sewell) at a party and the two get trapped in a lift together. Petruchio needs money urgently and Katherine needs to change her reputation among the public, thus beginning an unlikely and oftentimes unwilling romance between these two bad-tempered and brash main characters.
While I thought the setting of this adaption was clever and some of the character work was delightful, I found this to be a poor take on the Shakespearean classic over all. The play itself deals with the difficult ideas of gender roles and abusive relationships, themes which can be hard to read for a modern audience. The psychological torture of Katherine by Petruchio in order to 'tame' her is seen in a negative light by contemporary readers and film-makers can have difficulty modernising this concept without coming across as misogynistic or portraying spousal abuse too lightly on-screen. It is in this grey area that I think the film falls down the most. From the outset, oppressive gender expectations are placed on Katherine. She is a successful, single woman who is told that she will not be able to achieve her dreams without a man and a family at her side. While this does seem like a case of stretching the believability of the character's world to fit the parameters of an older play text, it is a smart move on behalf of screen writer Sally Wainwright. As much as it pains us to admit it, very few world leaders get elected to office without a family or a charming spouse to stand beside them in the press. It's a depressing reality of the world we live in and one the film comments on cleverly. However, the relationship between Petruchio and Kate in this adaption is one that dances on this fine line achieved by the play's set up and oftentimes stumbles over it and becomes hard to watch. From their initial meeting, the two have a witty banter, with Kate's sharp tongue being matched perfectly by his brutish humour and innuendo. These exchanges, though bad- tempered are cloaked in wit and are pleasant for the audience to watch. It takes a turn when Katherine slaps Petruchio and he promises to hit her back "harder" if she does it again. This violent moment foreshadows the rest of the film for us as an audience. It is not until after they marry, that we truly see the film fall into the trap of following the play text too closely. Petruchio denies her transport, slashing the tires on the car while on honeymoon. He hides her luggage and phone, denies her food and does everything he can just to irritate her in general. While this is played off by Petruchio's best friend Harry (Stephen Tompkinson) as him being an "unstable, unbalanced exhibitionist who just needs someone to take of him", it is hard to watch and creates huge sympathy for Katherine. The film then depicts them falling in love, the day after he displays these abusive tendencies towards her and I felt that this was not enough time to create a likability for Petruchio or make us want to root for this relationship. We spend the remainder of the film in dismay watching the two together.
The characters and their roles in this adaption range from successful to pointless. While the casting is fantastic and each actor brings life to their characters, sub-plots are largely over- looked, to the detriment of the film. Kate's beautiful and famous sister Bianca (Jaime Murray) falls for an Italian 19 year old, Lucentio, (Santiago Cabrera) while dismissing the affections of her manager Harry. This entre sub-plot is shoved into the film at random intervals and does nothing to further the plot or show a difference between Bianca and Kate as it does in the play. It lets down the adaption massively and the two leads are barely able to carry it on their own without any sub-plots of substance behind them. Though Sewell is excellent as the charming and desperate Petruchio, Henderson is almost too extreme in her portrayal of Katherine.. In the early portion of the film, I found that she portrayed the violent and screeching nature of Kate to an exaggerated level. However, she redeemed herself in her portrayal of Kate's clever wit. She understands Petruchio's nature and knows how to manipulate him by acting like the perfect wife. In the end, Katherine even convinces this once domineering and controlling man to be a stay at home father while she runs the country. She has him in the palm of her hand, a conclusion that ties up the ambiguity of the play's ending very well.
Over-all, I wasn't particularly impressed by this adaption. It sacrifices the sub-plots and minor characters of the original text to focus wholly on the relationship between Katherine and Petruchio, one which is rushed, clunky and hard to watch on screen. We do not believe in the development of them as a couple and we can barely bring ourselves to root for Kate when we should, a major area of weakness in the film. I would rate it 5 out of 10 stars.
While I thought the setting of this adaption was clever and some of the character work was delightful, I found this to be a poor take on the Shakespearean classic over all. The play itself deals with the difficult ideas of gender roles and abusive relationships, themes which can be hard to read for a modern audience. The psychological torture of Katherine by Petruchio in order to 'tame' her is seen in a negative light by contemporary readers and film-makers can have difficulty modernising this concept without coming across as misogynistic or portraying spousal abuse too lightly on-screen. It is in this grey area that I think the film falls down the most. From the outset, oppressive gender expectations are placed on Katherine. She is a successful, single woman who is told that she will not be able to achieve her dreams without a man and a family at her side. While this does seem like a case of stretching the believability of the character's world to fit the parameters of an older play text, it is a smart move on behalf of screen writer Sally Wainwright. As much as it pains us to admit it, very few world leaders get elected to office without a family or a charming spouse to stand beside them in the press. It's a depressing reality of the world we live in and one the film comments on cleverly. However, the relationship between Petruchio and Kate in this adaption is one that dances on this fine line achieved by the play's set up and oftentimes stumbles over it and becomes hard to watch. From their initial meeting, the two have a witty banter, with Kate's sharp tongue being matched perfectly by his brutish humour and innuendo. These exchanges, though bad- tempered are cloaked in wit and are pleasant for the audience to watch. It takes a turn when Katherine slaps Petruchio and he promises to hit her back "harder" if she does it again. This violent moment foreshadows the rest of the film for us as an audience. It is not until after they marry, that we truly see the film fall into the trap of following the play text too closely. Petruchio denies her transport, slashing the tires on the car while on honeymoon. He hides her luggage and phone, denies her food and does everything he can just to irritate her in general. While this is played off by Petruchio's best friend Harry (Stephen Tompkinson) as him being an "unstable, unbalanced exhibitionist who just needs someone to take of him", it is hard to watch and creates huge sympathy for Katherine. The film then depicts them falling in love, the day after he displays these abusive tendencies towards her and I felt that this was not enough time to create a likability for Petruchio or make us want to root for this relationship. We spend the remainder of the film in dismay watching the two together.
The characters and their roles in this adaption range from successful to pointless. While the casting is fantastic and each actor brings life to their characters, sub-plots are largely over- looked, to the detriment of the film. Kate's beautiful and famous sister Bianca (Jaime Murray) falls for an Italian 19 year old, Lucentio, (Santiago Cabrera) while dismissing the affections of her manager Harry. This entre sub-plot is shoved into the film at random intervals and does nothing to further the plot or show a difference between Bianca and Kate as it does in the play. It lets down the adaption massively and the two leads are barely able to carry it on their own without any sub-plots of substance behind them. Though Sewell is excellent as the charming and desperate Petruchio, Henderson is almost too extreme in her portrayal of Katherine.. In the early portion of the film, I found that she portrayed the violent and screeching nature of Kate to an exaggerated level. However, she redeemed herself in her portrayal of Kate's clever wit. She understands Petruchio's nature and knows how to manipulate him by acting like the perfect wife. In the end, Katherine even convinces this once domineering and controlling man to be a stay at home father while she runs the country. She has him in the palm of her hand, a conclusion that ties up the ambiguity of the play's ending very well.
Over-all, I wasn't particularly impressed by this adaption. It sacrifices the sub-plots and minor characters of the original text to focus wholly on the relationship between Katherine and Petruchio, one which is rushed, clunky and hard to watch on screen. We do not believe in the development of them as a couple and we can barely bring ourselves to root for Kate when we should, a major area of weakness in the film. I would rate it 5 out of 10 stars.