THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
Directed by: Michael Radford.
Produced by: Cary Brokaw, Barry Navidi, Jason Piette & Michael Lionello Cowen.
Written by: Michael Radford, based on the play by William Shakespeare.
Director of Photography: Benoit Delhomme.
Edited by: Lucia Zucchetti.
Music by: Jocelyn Pook.
Released by: Sony Picture Classics.
Country of Origin: UK. 129 min. Rated: R.
With: Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes & Lynn Collins.

When Shakespeare's Antonio and Shylock first meet in The Merchant of Venice, Shylock, in an aside to the audience, confesses "I hate [Antonio] for he is a Christian." In Michael Radford's adaptation of Shakespeare's play, Shylock's aside is wisely omitted. This Merchant opens with historical facts about Jews in 17th century Venice flashing across the screen. Then in a scene added to the film, Antonio (Jeremy Irons), in public spits on Shylock (Al Pacino). In the light of this scene, the humiliated and oppressed Shylock comes across as mild and restrained. Radford makes other changes for similar reasons. In the play, the heroine, Portia, muses on a Moor, a black suitor who has lost his chance at her hand in marriage: "Let all of his complexion choose me so." In the movie, the beautiful and lily-white Lynn Collins as Portia utters nothing so racist.

The makers of The Merchant of Venice are thus to be congratulated. Merchant was filmed before the release of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Yet, with a similar potential for controversy, Merchant manages not to offend. Indeed, it views anti-Semitism and racism through a modern prism, averse to bigotry and embracing religious diversity.

Even gays have a place in this Merchant. True, Shakespeare scholars have questioned whether homoerotic tension exists between Antonio and his best friend Bassiono (Joseph Fiennes). But here the men look longingly into each other's eyes and plant a kiss on each other, even in Antonio's bedroom. So there's little question about their relationship. What Merchant doesn't manage to do, primarily due to lukewarm performances, is engage.

From Al Pacino, we hoped for better. After all, he's fresh from chewing up the scenery as Roy Cohn in Angels in America. As Richard II in his own directorial debut, Looking for Richard, he was mischievously villainous and over-the-top in just the right amounts. It's disappointing how restrained Pacino is in a similarly dramatic role. When Shylock bewails his daughter, who's eloped with a Christian, Pacino's highly trained and resonant voice actually breaks down to a whimper and a whine, and the manic intensity we've seen in those eyes since The Godfather is strangely gone. And his accent is a hindrance; it seems to slow the delivery of his lines to a deadly pace. Pacino does manage to come alive as the court room scene opens, but trails off again to yet more whimpering.

Irons and Fiennes deliver monochromatic performances practically void of facial expressions and vocal intonation. Lynn Collins as Portia and Heather Goldenhersh as Nerissa, Portia's lady-in-waiting, have a few good moments, particularly in comic scenes. But Nerissa and Shylock's daughter, Jessica (Zuleikha Robinson), look far too much alike; better casting would have differentiated them. Disguised as men, Portia and Nerissa's wigs are laughable and distracting. Collins' delivery of Portia's famous "Quality of Mercy" speech seems not to want to call attention to itself when, in fact, it is one of Shakespeare's most beautiful speeches. The music throughout the trial scene is notable for enhancing the pace and suspense. And much of the look of the film is appropriately varied, opulent here and grimy there. The unfortunate exceptions are scenes set in Portia's island abode, Belmont, which look too pastel and pretty at best, and like a Lord of the Rings set at worst.

Steven Cordova, contributing editor and poet (Slow Dissolve, Momotombo Press)
December 29, 2004