The Tempest (2010 film)

The Tempest
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Julie Taymor
Screenplay by	Julie Taymor
Produced by	Julie Taymor Robert Chartoff Lynn Hendee Julia Taylor-Stanley Jason K. Lau
Starring	Helen Mirren Russell Brand Reeve Carney Tom Conti Chris Cooper Alan Cumming Djimon Hounsou Felicity Jones Alfred Molina David Strathairn Ben Whishaw
Cinematography	Stuart Dryburgh
Edited by	Françoise Bonnot
Music by	Elliot Goldenthal
Production companies	Touchstone Pictures Miramax Films Chartoff/Hendee Productions TalkStory Productions Artemis Films Mumbai Mantra Media Limited
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release dates	September 11, 2010 (2010-09-11) (Venice International Film Festival) December 10, 2010 (2010-12-10) (United States)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Box office	$346,594

The Tempest is a 2010 American film based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, featuring Helen Mirren in the principal role of Prospera. The film is directed by Julie Taymor and premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2010.

Although The Tempest received generally unfavorable reviews from critics, Sandy Powell received her ninth Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design. Shakespeare's epic play is translated from page to screen, with the gender of the main character, Prospero, changed from male to female.

Cast

• Helen Mirren as Prospera – a sorceress and Miranda's mother
• Ben Whishaw as Ariel – a spirit who aids Prospera
• Djimon Hounsou as Caliban – Prospera's slave who, along with Stephano and Trinculo, plots against her
• Felicity Jones as Miranda – Prospera's daughter who falls in love with Ferdinand
• David Strathairn as Alonso, King of Naples – Ferdinand's father and Trinculo and Stephano's employer
• Tom Conti as Gonzalo – a counsellor to Alonso, who gave aid to Prospera and Miranda
• Reeve Carney as Ferdinand – Alonso's son, who falls in love with Miranda
• Chris Cooper as Antonio – Prospera's brother and Miranda's uncle
• Alan Cumming as Sebastian – Alonso's brother
• Alfred Molina as Stephano – Alonso's butler who, along with Trinculo, joins forces with Caliban to plot against Prospera
• Russell Brand as Trinculo – Alonso's jester who, along with Stephano, joins forces with Caliban to plot against Prospera

Production

The film, based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, is written and directed by Julie Taymor. The play's main character is Prospero, who is male in the original play. Taymor explained the casting decision, "I didn't really have a male actor that excited me in mind, and yet there had been a couple of phenomenal females – Helen Mirren being one of them – who [made me think]: 'My God, does this play change? What happens if you make that role into a female role?'" Taymor held a reading and found that the story could accommodate the change of gender without being gimmicky.

In Shakespeare's play, Prospero was the Duke of Milan. In the adaptation, Prospera is the daughter of the Duke. She is "more overtly wronged" than Prospero; when the duke dies, Prospera's brother Antonio (played by Chris Cooper) accuses her of killing him with witchcraft. Antonio makes the accusation to be rid of Prospera and claim her royal title. Taymor said, "She had her whole life taken away from her because she was a woman." Prospera wants to prevent the same thing from happening to her daughter.

Principal photography took place around volcanic areas of the big island of Hawaii and Lanai.

Release

The Tempest premiered at the Venice Film Festival on September 11, 2010, as the festival's closing film. When Disney sold Miramax Films to Filmyard Holdings, LLC, Disney took over distribution through its division Touchstone Pictures. The film was released on December 10, 2010.

Reception

The film has received mixed to negative reviews from critics; Rotten Tomatoes maintains that 30% of 86 reviewers gave a positive review with an average score of 4.6/10. Entertainment Weekly said the film – "theatrically ambitious, musically busy, and in the end cinematically inert – clearly reflects the authorship of myth-loving director Julie Taymor." USA Today found that "Mirren keeps the film on track. But incomprehensible shouting and pointless shenanigans obscure subtle moments." In a similar vein, Newsweek said "the film's special effects, to a surprising extent, add little to the story", and that "next to the concise power of [Shakespeare's] language, the screen wizardry of even a resourceful director like Taymor seems like rough magic indeed". However, The New Yorker's David Denby pointed out the film's strengths, most particularly Helen Mirren's performance as Prospera: "Mirren has the range and power to play a woman with unprecedented control of the elements, and over men, too." Sandra Hall in The Sydney Morning Herald is more generous toward Taymor's vision, saying, "In the scene that explains the circumstances of mother and daughter's banishment from the dukedom of Milan, Taymor has skillfully tweaked Shakespeare's lines to take account of her new scenario", and praising the film's visual elements. Critical of Taymor, Whishaw's performance was praised by Taste of Cinema.

Accolades

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Nominee	Result
Academy Awards	February 27, 2011	Best Costume Design	Sandy Powell	Lost to Colleen Atwood (Alice in Wonderland)
Satellite Awards	December 19, 2010	Best Actress	Helen Mirren	Lost to Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

See also

• List of William Shakespeare screen adaptations

External links

• Official website
• The Tempest at IMDb
• The Tempest at AllMovie
• The Tempest at Box Office Mojo
• The Tempest at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Tempest at Metacritic