Movie Preview: The Tempest

Director Julie Taymor's (Across the Universe, Frida) adaptation of the Shakespeare classic The Tempest includes one central deviation from its source material: the central character's gender has been changed. Prospero is now Prospera, played by the incomparable Helen Mirren. The switch should change a major dynamic in the story--the relationship between Prospero/a and the daughter.

Critics don't seem to be loving the film thus far, but here's a nice summation from Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum:

Taymor repositions Shakespeare's mysterious story of magic, revenge, and forgiveness on a strange island by turning the play's vexed sorcerer, Prospero, into a sorceress, Prospera, played by Helen Mirren with moody feminist authority.

Personally, I enjoy most Shakespeare adaptations--even the bad ones--and am interested in what Taymor has done with this one.

Here's the film's trailer:



And an interview with Taymor on The Colbert Report:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Julie Taymor
www.colbertnation.com
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