Twelfth Night or What You Will (1996)

Shakespeare's comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman he loves.

Director:

Trevor Nunn

Writers:

William Shakespeare (by), Trevor Nunn (screenplay)

Stars:

Imogen Stubbs, Steven Mackintosh, Helena Bonham Carter

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Imogen Stubbs	...	Viola
Steven Mackintosh	...	Sebastian
Nicholas Farrell	...	Antonio
Sidney Livingstone	...	Captain (as Sid Livingstone)
Ben Kingsley	...	Feste
James Walker	...	Priest
Helena Bonham Carter	...	Olivia
Nigel Hawthorne	...	Malvolio
Mel Smith	...	Sir Toby Belch
Imelda Staunton	...	Maria
Toby Stephens	...	Orsino
Alan Mitchell	...	Valentine
Peter Gunn	...	Fabian
Richard E. Grant	...	Sir Andrew Aguecheek
Tim Bentinck	...	First Officer

Storyline

Brother and sister Viola and Sebastian, who are not only very close but look a great deal alike, are in a shipwreck, and both think the other dead. When she lands in a foreign country, Viola dresses as her brother and adopts the name Cesario, becoming a trusted friend and confidante to the Count Orsino. Orsino is madly in love with the lady Olivia, who is in mourning due to her brother's recent death, which she uses as an excuse to avoid seeing the count, whom she does not love. He sends Cesario to do his wooing, and Olivia falls in love with the disguised maiden. Things get more complicated in this bittersweet Shakespeare comedy when a moronic nobleman, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and a self-important servant, Malvolio, get caught up in the schemes of Olivia's cousin, the obese, alcoholic Sir Toby, who leads each to believe Olivia loves him. As well, Sebastian surfaces in the area, and of course there is Feste, the wise fool, around to keep everything in perspective and to marvel, like we ...

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Plot Keywords:

love | disguise | mourning | servant | fool | 

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Taglines:

Before Priscilla crossed the desert, Wong Foo met Julie Newmar, and the Birdcage was unlocked, there was...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements

Details

Country:

UK Ireland USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Twelfth Night

Filming Locations:

Cotehele House, St Dominick, Cornwall, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$33,451 (USA) (25 October 1996)

Gross:

$551,545 (USA) (20 December 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Renaissance Films, BBC Films, Circus Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Twelfth Night, the character of Orsino is several years older than Viola. However, at the time of the film's release, Imogen Stubbs (Viola) was 35; 8 years older than Toby Stephens (Orsino), who was 27.

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Goofs

During one of the final scenes, when Malvolio reenters, it can be seen that his left shoe is missing. However, as he is walking up the stairs, you can clearly hear both heels clicking on the steps.

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Quotes

Malvolio: My masters, are you mad? Have ye no wit, manners, nor honesty, but to gabble like tinkers at this time of night? Do ye make an alehouse of my lady's house? Is there no respect of place, persons, nor time in you?

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Connections

Version of Twelfth Night, or What You Will (1988)

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Soundtracks

"O Mistress Mine"
Music by Shaun Davey
Words by William Shakespeare
Sung by Ben Kingsley

User Reviews

A lovely adaptation

Trevor Nunn's adaptation of Twelfth Night is exceptionally beautiful, well acted, and emotionally engaging. Ben Kingsley's performance as the Fool stands out as magnificent, but the entire ensemble comes off very well. The film nails both the joy and the darkness of Shakespeare's play - and the play, make no mistake, contains plenty of dark and strange moments when things go, as the drunken uncle Sir Toby Belch says, "Out of tune, sir." The filmmakers deserve credit for not glossing over the shades of sadism in Toby's treatment of Malvolio or the shallow fickleness of Orsino's character. The wintry Cornwall setting dovetails perfectly with the mood of the play, half sun and half shadow, and the costume design (roughly Edwardian, though I am not an expert on fashion history) creatively evokes the luxury of Orsino and Olivia's courtly world, while allowing for - even necessitating - the brilliant re-imagining of the Fool as bohemian vagabond.