Measure for Measure – Review [BIFF]

Measure for Measure

Directed by: Paul Ireland

Runtime: 103 minutes

English teachers love preaching the universal nature of the Shakespearean story. As their students try to decipher the slight language barrier and contextual differences in his plays, they are always told that, buried underneath the flowery monologues and soliloquies, are relatable tales of the human condition. While I have seen a lot of modern adaptations of Shakespeare in my time, I never expected to see one set amongst the inner-city chaos of Melbourne housing commission flats. After seeing writer/director Paul Ireland’s take on the Bard’s work, I would have to agree with Shakespeare’s enduring relevance across the globe (side note: this pun was not intentional).

Crime boss Duke (Hugo Weaving) must take a brief holiday as the dust settles after an unexpected tragedy. Leaving his concrete kingdom in the hands of his unstable protegee Angelo (Mark Leonard Winter), the morality behind his crooked enterprise is put into question. Meanwhile, budding musician Claudio (Harrison Gilbertson), a resident of Duke’s beloved flats, begins a romance with refugee Jaiwara (Megan Smart). While the plot loosely follows the general structure of the original play, the tone is vastly different, changing the tongue-in-cheek comedic aspects of the original text into pensive, dramatic moments with a peppering of social commentary.

The film is at its best when it tackles topical issues. Multiculturalism, war, gender and drugs are all addressed within the film, without any musings on them feeling too forced or heavy-handed. Weaving gives a solid performance an ageing patriarch, watching the morality escape from the world around him through well-placed CCTV cameras as he sits in a comfortable chair. The stand-out performance is Smart’s portrayal of Jaiwara, a character that could have easily been typecast as a dull star-crossed lover without having any grit of her own. The soundtrack was also top-notch; anything with a well-placed Radiohead song always gets bonus points from me.

However, the film wasn’t perfect. The final ‘stinger’ felt a little cheap, some scenes felt a little too long, and some lines felt a little too forced. The issue with any modern adaptation of Shakespeare seems to reside in the difference between the over-dramatic nature of the staged play and grounded, gritty realism. While this was close to achieving that balance, it didn’t quite achieve perfection in that regard. For the most part, the film was well-made, well-acted, and kept me invested in the characters and setting throughout.

This was an immersive Australian feature with interesting ideas and solid execution. The setting and social commentary within the piece elevate it to something a little more than a ballsy local picture, and while it does have its issues, it is definitely worth a viewing. In Shakespeare’s words, “Virtue is bold, and goodness never fearful,” and I for one was impressed by the fearlessness of this film’s vision.