just gonna leave this here...
I love my some big screen Shakespeare.
And MacBeth is my FAVORITE of the tragedies.
And I really like Fassbender and Cotillard.
So, yeah I need to see this.
Cymbeline is one of the few Shakespeare plays I know absolutely nothing about. I have never read it or seen it performed prior to this afternoon. I had no idea what to expect. Cymbeline feels like someone took all of Shakespeare's plays and put them in a blender. Then, when the contents were retrieved, a studio executive ran in and said "look, your last few plays were really big downers, can you make this one have a happy ending? We don't care if it doesn't quite work with the rest of the play, just give it a happy ending!" There are so many plot lines, I think even Shakespeare was confused by the end, since the last 20 minutes of the play is a RECAP of the entire play. I swear, you need some kind of chart to figure this one out. But I'll attempt to break it down as quickly as I can:
Synopsis:
Cymbeline is the King of Britain. 20 years ago, his two sons were kidnapped. Now he just has a daughter, Imogen, though he did remarry and his new wife brought along her son, Cloten. Also, the King has raised up an orphan named Posthumus Leonatus. Now, Leonatus and Imogen have fallen in love and secretly married. The King, of course, does not approve of his daughter marrying a non-noble. The queen, Imogen's stepmother, sees this as an opportunity to drive apart the father and daughter, and get her son into his good graces. As the play opens, the queen tells Leo that he needs to leave the country. The couple exchange vows of love, swearing that they will be faithful no matter what. Imogen gives Leo her diamond ring, he gives her a golden bracelet. He also leaves his servant Pisanio at the court, to carry messages between the two of them. With a kiss, Leo heads off to Italy. The queen moves her plot forward, requesting poison from the apothecary. The apothecary knows better than to give a queen poison, so she tells the audience that she has given her highness something that will just give the illusion of death. Knowing that Pisanio will be in the company of Imogen daily, she gives him the vial, saying it is the equivalent of Tylenol and very precious.
There, he meets up with some bawdy gentleman, the loudest among them, Jachimo. After listening to Leo talk about how faithful and beautiful Imogen is, Jachimo wages that he could corrupt the girl with a single visit. Leo resists but after much pestering, the finally takes the bet. Jachimo heads off to court and first slanders Leo, saying he is messing around in Italy and having a grand time without Imogen. She is distraught by this so Jachimo tries to put some moves on her. She quickly figures out that he's toying with her emotions. Thinking on his feet, Jachimo apologizes and says it was a test. He begs her forgiveness, then asks if he could keep his trunk of jewels in her bedroom for the evening for safe keeping. She agrees. That night, after Imogen falls asleep, Jachimo emerges from the chest, memorizes the layout of her bedroom, her bed, and sneaks a quick peek under her nightgown. Before he goes back into the chest, he slips off the bracelet. The next morning, Imogen searches for her bracelet and runs into Cloten, who attempts to woo her himself. She says that she doesn't like him at all, goes so far as to say she hates him. She says, meaning it as a metaphor, that she loves Leo's simple clothes to Cloten's royal garb. He takes it literally.
( but wait, there's more!!! )