I’ve come to the conclusion after watching literally thousands of movies that I don’t like straight drama. I rarely enjoy it unless there is some genre component to reel me in. Sometimes even genre actors don’t help, such as Doctor Who’s David Tennant and Arthur Darvill in the BBC series Broadchurch. I don’t go to movies for portrayals of real life, no matter how good the portrayal is supposed to be. The list of exceptions to my distaste for straight drama is probably pretty large because I am pretty open minded. The genre hook could be tenuous but it must be there.
Of course the most celebrated dramatist of all time is William Shakespeare. I love his comedies adapted to screen, particularly Kenneth Branagh’s costume drama Much Ado About Nothing. I also love the history plays–again, costume drama–and especially the 1990s Henry V–again, Branagh’s version. The genre hook is easy with his histories–historical fiction. But take that drama into the present day, such as with Joss Whedon’s 2013 Much Ado About Nothing, and I could hardly be less interested in it. Even with a bunch of genre actors in the cast.
Historical drama in the form of four of Shakespeare’s history plays adapted to screen on the BBC in 2012 begin tomorrow in the States with The Hollow Crown on PBS’s Great Performances. And better yet, they are staged in the historical period–not contemporary updates–and as a bonus they feature a host of genre actors.
