watch this movie and then listen to the commentary and it clear that michael radford doesn not understand this play . the first clue that he fail to fully grasp the work be that he take pain to set the film in seventeenth century venice . which sound truly odd and yes and that misunderstand the film would mean try to make it a accurate to it location a possible . but anyone who study shakespeare know that and while he set most of his play in exotic local and the culture and value be always contemporary england . this doesn not hurt the film and but it display a lack of necessary knowledge . where radford kill the film be in make it so dead serious . he manage to suck every joke out of the script and leave the whole production flat . every ounce of passion be beat out of the character . even shylock do we not bleed speech be a mild and awkward ranting from a choleric who seem to only be say and do what he do because he suppose to . the lover be solemn and far too restrain ( joseph fiennes delivers some of the most romantic line in the cinema this year in a barely audible whisper ) and gratiano ( who have to promise to behave at one point ) be more sober and collect than bassiano ( who make him promise to behave ) and jessica be reluctant to leave her father and spend her life with lorenzo pout . in the commentary for the bland and water down court scene and the director voice his shock that an audience laugh at portia a pound of flesh and no more and no less sentence while ultimately conclude that it have to tension release laughter . the merchant of venice be a comedy and radford scoff at the idea that the most absurd and hysterical portion of the story be anything but the most daringly provocative drama . the film have no intelligible focus and yet cut out some of the most entertaining scene . the character be force into high drama veil and so they come out sound like ibsen character read victorian poetry . and the comedic end and where all of the good guy go to bed happy and be drown in a dignified despair that feel like theyre find stiff upper lip peace with impend death and rather than reconcile with lover . even lancelot and antonio exit the film hold their hat like aristocratic mourner . the film be poorly do because the creative power that be do not understand the script . it be stern where it should hysterical . it be reserve where it should be passionate . it be michael radford where it should be william shakespeare .