Well, this
was an unusual one. Recorded at a
perfect reconstruction of a Jacobean theatre with a live audience this is a
rather glorious performance of a classic by one of the greatest rivals of
Shakespeare himself. I`m not quite sure if this one qualifies as a film. I`m
not even sure if this is on DVD or not or how anyone based outside the UK will
potentially get to watch it. Of course there have been films made of the story.
But this is not a film, not strictly speaking. Then again, I loved it. It
tempted me into putting money aside so I can go to theatre. And watching in
Jacobean style, lit only with candles and with no backdrop, was a real
experience in itself. I mean not to mention the fact that televised and
recorded artistic experiences (be it museum tours or concerts) are more and
more of a ``thing``. So… I reckon it gets a place in the blog. Besides, in the
scheme of things these days John Webster is often overshadowed by his more
famous contemporary. It`s high time there was a spotlight on his talent.
So what is
the story? Well, our heroine, as you may guess, is the Duchess of Malfi. She is
quite young and newly widowed, so she naturally has quite a few suitors milling
around. The duchess however loves one man – Antonio. Unfortunately for all
concerned however, he is not a nobleman but a steward of the household. Her
feelings are quite requited and Antonio and the Duchess marry and have three
beautiful children. This joyous state of affairs does not please the duchess`
brothers. Her older brother the Cardinal is one problem. Her twin brother Ferdinand,
whose ``brotherly`` love borders on obsession, is a completely different one.
And they have their own ideas as to how best to ``retaliate`` to this ``act of
treason``.
The ``true
crime`` fans among us will be fascinated to find out that this is, in fact, a
true story. It is the story if Giovanna D`Aragona and her two brothers,
Ludovica D`Aragona, the cardinal of Santa Maria in Cosmedin and her fraternal
twin Carlo D`Aragona, the Marquis of Gerace. While there is no historical
evidence of any actual foul play; there is evidence that Giovanna (who, to put
things into perspective was married off at the tender age of 12 and widowed at
around 17) lived in terror of her brothers` retribution. There is also
historical evidence that the duchess, her two youngest children and Antonio
were murdered in quick succession. Only their eldest son survived the carnage
and, thankfully, lived a long and successful life. I think you can probably see
where the inspiration for this particularly ghoulish play comes from…
And don’t
get me wrong the play is bloody – one of the experts in a documentary I watched
on the play described Webster as a Jacobean Quentin Tarantino – but for me that
is not where the true horror of the play lies. We learn that the play comes
after years of disappearance on Webster`s part – as in he just drops off the
existing records for a number of years – then he just reappears and writes
this. Whatever happened in the meanwhile, it clearly was not pleasant. Because
we have eerily accurate descriptions of madness and depression that, combined
with a strong cast, are fit to give the strongest theatre-goers the chills. In
this performance we have a very striking character in the shape of Bosola –
brought to life by Sean
Gilder – who is the catspaw for the Cardinal and Ferdinand. He is clearly
depressed (and I mean clinically people, not just having a bad day) from the
moment we are first introduced to him. It is the state of mind of a man who,
thanks to the Cardinal’s dirty dealings , has already been sucked so deep into
a world of blood, intrigue he just does not see a way out for himself. Watching him fight himself and suffer as he
gets sucked deeper and deeper into the two brothers plans is harrowing within
itself. Then, of course, there is Ferdinand. Ferdinand is unstable from the
word go, and I don`t just mean about his sister (although that is a massive
part of it of course). As the stress on his system increases we find him
incapable of coping and he transforms from the arch-villain to a tragi-comical
character. It’s quite a natural progression really. Consider the villains we
have seen in the past, the wild stares, the maniacal laughs the typical ``mad
they called me, mad!`` Does it not follow that one of them should just fall
over the edge at some point DURING the narrative? I`m rather amazed this hasn`t
been done before really. I know it would spoil the ``dichotomy`` as far as
Hollywood were concerned (you know, the hero wouldn`t have an opponent at his
own weight category and that would kinda throw the film of kilter). But surely
some of the indies could have done it? In this story the problem of the
``missing baddie`` is easily solved through the presence of the Cardinal who is
the archetypal “evil priest”. The
Cardinal is nothing short of a psychopath by the way, in a way a lot more
frightening than the unstable Ferdinand or Bosolo whose hands are steeped in
blood but I’m going to let you guys discover that for yourselves later. And
last but not least, a word or three must be said for Gemma Arterton who does a
spectacular job as the duchess. The duchess you understand is neither a saint
nor a harlot. She is a regular young and beautiful woman, still full of life
and madly in love. She cares not about “familial duty” or social standards, she
just wants to marry the man she loves. Her suffering and torment will turn her
into what is almost a heroine from a Greek tragedy while her death (don’t tell
me you didn`t see that coming) transforms her into what would be akin to a
martyr in this play. There is something to be said about the fact that she ends
up as “tragedy” while her fraternal twin, through his insanity becomes
“comedy”, albeit with a deeply tragic streak. But that is possibly another post
all together…
Finally,
one simply must say a word or two about the production itself, because of
course we must remember that this is not a film but a filmed play – which is a
different thing all together. First of all of course, the minimalist approach
and lack of props are probably going to throw you a bit if you’re not used to
this kind of production. The lack of backdrops etc. may well mean you get a bit
disoriented at first, but as long as the audience is willing to use a little
imagination – and of course the performances are strong enough – you will find
it very easy to follow “where” we are. Besides it gives the performance a
strange kind of freedom, a sort of sense of being untethered from the material
things. I mean this is tame in comparison too; I have seen a performance of
Anthony and Cleopatra at the Globe where the actors just sat on a bench at the
end of stage if they weren’t in the particular act being performed. So in
effect, almost the whole cast was on the stage the whole time which is slightly
disorienting to say the very least. What else? Oh yes, the lighting. It barely
gets a mention in this blog I know (and God knows it SHOULD get mentioned) but
here it takes on a life of its own. When multiple candles are used to mimic the
bright light of day all is well and good but when night falls… The play between
light and dark and the way the shadows are used are nothing short of (and in
fact I would hazard a guess that in this particular modern production they were
heavily influenced by) the kind of German expressionism in early black and white
film that later also influenced the likes of Orson Wells and many other film
noirs. In fact there is one portion of the play that takes place in complete
darkness. Do take a minute to stop and think how that was received back in the
16th century – the audience must have been terrified. This period of darkness is part of the
psychological torture prepared for the duchess and trust me, a 21st
century audience would be jumping out of its skin – much less a 16thcentury
one.
Do you know
something? I would have loved to have seen this in the flesh. It must have been
such an immersive experience… I really, really need to go to the theatre more
often. Even watching this performance on TV was just… So striking… I really
hope you get a chance to see this performance, recorded live or even in the
form of a different film all together. Especially for all you gore and horror
fans, there is a real treat in store.
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