Our man on the ground at the New York Film Festival certainly didn’t think much of the Centerpiece Film, Julie Taymor’s “The Tempest” and now that we have our first look at the latest visually dazzling take on Shakespeare from the director we are beginning to understand where he’s coming from.
The gender switching take on Shakespeare’s last masterpiece stars Helen Mirren as Prospera, a woman scorned after being unjustly usurped and exiled by the brother of her deceased husband so he can claim her title. Shot in Hawaii (yes, it does look very nice) the film also boasts a helluva supporting crew of actors including David Strathairn, Djimon Hounsou, Reeve Carney, Alan Cumming, Alfred Molina, Chris Cooper, Felicity Jones, Ben Whishaw and Russell Brand. But while the dazzling effects are impressive nothing in the trailer particularly stirred us, not even the desperate addition of Sigur Ros in the spot’s final moments to try and wrest some kind of emotion out of whomever might be watching it.
The film will open in NY/LA on December 10th before rolling out. You can watch the trailer below or in HD at Apple.