Two fine recent books focusing on Shakespeare's life in Stratford felt as if they had shed new light on their subject in spite of being drawn, by necessity, largely thru informed conjecture. From Maggie O’Farrell, speculative novelistic lyricism about Shakespeare’s lost son in HAMNET (awards/strong sales); and from Lena Cowen Orlin, THE PRIVATE LIFE OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, emphasizing his ties & time in Stratford over London experiences.* In contrast, this implausibly titled look at The Bard in Retirement, written by Ben Elton between spoofing Will on tv’s UPSTART CROW, is unlikely to add anything to the conversation. Mourn son/ignore the three women of the family. That’s the gist of it. At least, star/director Kenneth Branagh, with Judi Dench as older wife Anne (a quarter of a century older!) make a convincing couple, strangers to each other in many ways, but occasionally sharing the infamous ‘second-best bed’ Will willed to her. No one else clicks: the daughters too contemporary; Ian McKellen’s aged Earl of Southampton overplaying his few scenes; the rest of the town hardly registering. And though Elton lards the dialogue with quotes from sonnets & plays, the main story, characterization & dialogue are less Elizabethan than Lillian Hellman (dark family secrets, misdirected passion, curtain lines for every revelation). And so dark! Real candle-lit interiors helping Dame Dench pass (she’s 84), but offering no ‘fill’ light. This cliché of faux realism in vogue since Stanley Kubrick had John Alcott do it for BARRY LYNDON back in ‘75. (Long past time for a reset . . . of light meters!)
READ ALL ABOUT IT/LINK: As mentioned, Maggie O’Farrell’s HAMNET (a quiet, contemplative wonder) and Lena Cowen Orlin’s THE PRIVATE LIFE OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, reviewed here by James Shapiro whose four books on Shakespeare are not just indispensable but also readable. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/books/review/private-life-of-william-shakespeare-lena-cowen-orlin.html?searchResultPosition=2
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