"If I can cross him anyway, I bless myself every way."
A great line, one of my favorites, which not only gives the plot summary to the movie, but also the motivation behind Don John's actions, Keanu's character in "Much Ado About Nothing." This was Keanu's first Shakespearean role on film and his first Shakespearean role since playing Trinculo in "The Tempest" on the stage with "Shakespeare & Company." The movie was directed, co-produced, and adapted by Kenneth Branagh, who wanted to bring an aspect of "breezy modernity" to the play. So he hired British and American actors to play the parts for which he felt the Americans could bring "high-octane, blood and guts and emotional fearlessness" from their acting style. His intention was to "make explicit in the film what is only implicit in the play." Branagh moved the location to Tuscany from the original setting of Sicily, to enhance the sunny optimism, almost frenzied pace of his film.
Principal photography took place for seven weeks in August, 1992 in temperatures well over 100 degrees. It was shot in 14th century built "Villa Vignamaggio" which is near the town of Greve, in the center of the Chianti wine region. It is said that Leonardo daVinci painted the Mona Lisa there, or as Keanu remarked, "that's what they say...like 'Elvis was here."
The movie opened in the U.S. on the weekend of May 7th, 1993 and went on to gross "$22.5 million here, and $48 million world-wide. It was nominated for a Golden Globe for "Best Comedy" and competed at the Cannes Film Festival in May, 1993.
Although the part was small (7 scenes, 4 of them with words), Keanu wanted to be in the production, initially in the part of Claudio. He made the first contact with Branagh while passing through London. The director remembered Keanu "was quoting lines from the play to me over lunch...with technical knowledge...and structure of the language...with passionate enthusiasm." Although Keanu might make a better Claudio, Branagh chose Robert Sean Leonard because he wanted an obvious age difference between the two main couples (he and Emma Thompson were in their early 30's, and Leonard and Kate Beckinsale were in their early 20's.) Keanu was almost 28 and didn't qualify. Compared to the other American actors, Keanu was the only one with acting experience in Shakespeare plays and reading Shakespeare for pleasure. Keanu had seen Henry V and liked it but "didn't really take note of who created or why." Branagh flew to America before the start of the movie to encourage Keanu to do some singing and "press-ups" while practicing lines, and "weird vocal exercises" to maintain his breathing while reciting lines.
To prepare for his second role as a villain (Scott Favor was the first, though not really a "plain-dealing" one), Keanu had a voice coach. The decision was made that the American actors did not have to have a British accent; voice coach Russell Jackson said they "wanted the feeling of natural voices." He also took riding lessons in L.A. for the first scene, and he waived his star salary and greed to share a villa with Beckinsale (a rumor emerged that Keanu had a crush on her) and Leonard. The 300 year old villa had three floors, and Keanu admitted in an interview that the others "put newspaper down for me in the kitchen in case I made a mess." He remembered with great fondness working with Brian Blessed, recalling that Bessed had an "extraordinary personality" and was a great storyteller ( I remember him as Augusta in "I, Claudius.)
Branagh once remarked that Keanu was at times "scary to be around because the part stayed with him", but also remembered that he was "very jocular and mixed in despite playing the quintessential party pooper."
The movie was well-received by critics, using words like "zesty," "flawed gem," "plush and glossy," and "rollickingly extroverted." And of course you got the critics who remarked that Keanu was "too serious, too uncomfortable," gave a "balsa wood performance." and my favorite, "snarls listlessly through his lines." Is that an oxymoron? But the critics hated all the American performances, which they thought paled in comparison to their British counterparts, saving the worse venom for poor Michael Keaton. You know, Beetlejuice as Dogberry?
But let's give Keanu a break. Don John's revenge is a cold and calculated one; he is indeed the dark side of the force in this comedic tale. He remarks early on that he is "not of many words," and his scowl is even more pronounced compared with the over-the-top glee and happiness which surrounds him. Wouldn't you just hate being around that many pollyannas? Keanu also identified the other problem with his character: Don John is an unresolved character: "I come in as a malcontent. I leave as a malcontent. We just wanted him to be a physical threat and a man of action." This role was more about a physical presence than speeches and subtle nuances. Branagh expressed a similar take on the character of Don John: "He is truly malevolent, sexy, passionate, and obsessively evil creature." You know him: the strong, silent type that every mom in the world warns her daughter about, but who looks incredibly sexy in leather pants.
Branagh knew what he had: "Keanu has a gorgeous bod. It was hard to wander around Tuscany with him and not see the head-turning effect." And he used it: dare I mention the massage scene? Branagh, in true fan fashion, summed up Keanu's charm by saying that "he is a very sexy, erotic physical being...utterly desirable and definitely unattainable. That makes him very, very attractive." I think I'm finished here.
My favorite scene is not the massage scene. It is in a dark hallway as Don John sprints through with a manical laugh that made your skin crawl. Such villainy! Keanu's love and understanding of Shakespeare was evident in that scene, and in his later remarks that with Shakespeare "you get to say very profound words" which impact "on your spirit, your intellect, your heart and your voice." Branagh said once that Keanu had "an incredible keenness...like an army cadet." Well, Atten-hut! All right, fellow cadets, the balcony is now open.
(thanks to The Daily Thud for the pic)