Love's Labour's Lost (2000)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Kenneth Branagh

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play)
Kenneth Branagh (screenplay)

Release Date:

24 March 2000 (Norway)

Genre:

Romance | Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

A New Spin on the Old Song and Dance

Plot:

An update of the classic Shakespeare story, director Kenneth Branagh shot this movie like a classic 30s musical. Love's Labour's Lost tells the story of four best friends who swear off love.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Princess | Bet | Directed By Star | Male Female Relationship

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Alessandro Nivola	...	King Ferdinand of Navarre
Alicia Silverstone	...	The Princess of France
Natascha McElhone	...	Rosaline
Kenneth Branagh	...	Berowne
Carmen Ejogo	...	Maria
Matthew Lillard	...	Longaville
Adrian Lester	...	Dumaine
Emily Mortimer	...	Katherine
Richard Briers	...	Nathaniel
Geraldine McEwan	...	Holofernia
Stefania Rocca	...	Jacquanetta
Jimmy Yuill	...	Dull
Nathan Lane	...	Costard
Timothy Spall	...	Don Armado
Anthony O'Donnell	...	Moth (as Tony O'Donnell)

Also Known As:

Peines d'amour perdues (Canada: French title) (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG for sensuality and a brief drug reference.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

France | UK | Canada

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Netherlands:6 | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIB | Norway:7 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Arts Council of England

Trivia:

This is the second time Kenneth Branagh has used "The Way You Look Tonight" in a movie - the first was in Peter's Friends (1992).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: While the movie's concentrating on what is obviously WW2, one of the paper shown announces the end of the war on November 11, which is in fact the date of the end of WW1 (the end of WW2 being on August 15).

Quotes:

Berowne: Did not I dance with you in Brabant once?
Rosaline: Did not I dance with you in Brabant once?
Berowne: I know you did.
Rosaline: How needless was it, then, to ask the question.

Movie Connections:

References Footlight Parade (1933)

Soundtrack:

No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)

the sublime and the ridiculous

Beautiful words, delightful music, great acting! What could ruin such a mix. The answer, the ego of Kenneth Branagh. He is much too old for the part of a young student. His direction is absurdly literal. For example: probably the best use of the song "Heaven, I'm in heaven..." is sung by Angel Islington in Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. Here the song is ruined by literally yanking the singers up on wires to a ceiling painted to resemble heaven. If a song mentions a hat, the director shows us a hat, and so on. The camera is always doing things that are distracting and annoying. The choreography is nothing but a string of literal quotes, from Busby Berkley to Fred Astaire to Gene Kelly to Bob Fosse. It never flows, just jerks from quote to quote. And while the older actors are superb, there does not seem to be an actor under 25 who can do Shakespeare...they all sound as if they are mouthing words that are not a part of their vocabulary. And the slapstick -- 'taint funny Magee. After all this, I still recommend watching the film. It is much kinder to the clowns than most productions of LLL. Branagh's great speech in praise of love is worth the price of admission. He acts sincerity so well it is almost enough to make us forget what he did to Emma Thompson. And the music is ... heaven.