The film much ado about nothing

a comedy in Shakespeare's day did not mean the same thing it means today. audiences expected humor, to be sure, and they knew there would be a happy ending. But many elements of the play wouldn't feel humorous at all and weren't meant to. This is certainly the case with much ado about nothing. after don john effects his villainy, the play takes a serious, almost tragic, tum. for an audience watching today, this can be a tricky shift because we aren't used to mixing farce with disaster in quite the same way. How does the director Kenneth Branagh blend the comic and near-tragic in his film? are his choices effective for the modem audience? You might consider how he presents the villain don pedro, or how he chooses to film the sober events in the last third of the play that suddenly shift back into merriment at the close. or how the foolish constable breaks up the tension. you may explore any choices that mix humor with dark elements.