Antonio (The Merchant of Venice) person … lie[s] all unlocked to your occasions" ("MoV" 1.1.146), seem to allude to a sexual dimension in Antonio's love for Bassanio. However, there is also evidence that the two shared a strictly fraternal, familial bond, as indicated by the line "Bassanio, your most noble kinsman …" ("MoV" 1.1.60) Other scholars maintain that all attempts to read Shakespeare's characters as gay or straight in terms of the modern understanding of the word are culturally and historically flawed. Alan Bray's book "Homosexuality in Renaissance England" argues that in the time period of "The Merchant of Venice's" composition, "homosexuality" did not refer
The Merchant of Venice (2004 film) On Metacritic the film has an average score of 63/100. Most critics praised both the interpretation of the Shylock character by Michael Radford and Al Pacino and the dark, realistic look of the streets of Venice, for which production designer Bruno Rubeo was honoured by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists. In 2005, the film had a Royal Premiere in the presence of Prince Charles and received a BAFTA nomination for Best Costume Design. Its worldwide theatrical gross was about $21.3 million, with a production budget of $30 million. The Merchant of Venice (2004 film) The Merchant of Venice