A Pound of Flesh, But Not A Drop of Blood!

Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman, and it’s even harder to be a Jew. This film, based on Shakespeare’s play of the same title, explores both issues. Portia is an intelligent woman in a time when men rule and women rarely leave the house. Shylock is a Jew in a world where Christians rule and Jews are barred from most means of making a living. The Christians despise him for lending money, but that’s almost the only thing he is allowed to do, in order to support himself.

The Merchant of Venice combines two stories, the love story and the tale of borrowing money with a man’s skin as a pledge. The merchant must borrow money, and he turns to the Jew because Christians are not allowed to lend money at interest; it is considered usury.

Setting

They filmed this play in Venice, and the canals in the movie are the actual Venice canals. The buildings are real. When one actor was thrown into the canal near the beginning of the movie, they had to decontaminate him because the water is so polluted. They could have faked that scene in the studio, but they did it for real. As a result, the feeling of the movie is very realistic.

The interior scenes are crowded and claustrophobic. They seem to have cluttered up tiny rooms with little tables and other furniture, and then covered all the furniture with myriad knick-knacks. It’s a feast for the eyes, but the actors can barely move. The most open space is the courtroom, which might symbolize the freedom from debt that Antonio and Bassanio hope to gain.

Costumes

Everyone is dressed in beautiful period costumes. The clothing is colorful and layered, with plenty of silk and velvet. You can almost feel the textures. I could watch for hours, even with the sound off, just to study their rich clothing.

A bit much of the women’s breasts is shown, as that was the fashion in Venice around the time of this play (1590s or so).

The Story

Al Pacino gives a forceful and moving rendition of Shylock’s speech:

“Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is?”

Shylock insists that he must have his revenge because Christians have taught him by example. However, he goes too far when he insists upon taking a knife and cutting out a pound of skin from Antonio’s chest in payment of a debt. Antonio is the title character, the merchant of Venice.

Portia, disguised as a man and acting as a lawyer, uses logic and the law to thwart Shylock’s intention when the case goes to court. However, if they had known that she was a woman, she never would have been allowed to do such a thing.

It appears that almost every man in the play wants to marry Portia, but she chooses Bassanio, a young man who is desperate to pay off his debts. However, she must first teach him a lesson about being faithful to her.

The ending is supposed to be happy, but the movie shows that it is really bittersweet.

Special Features

You can put the DVD into a computer’s CD drive for a teacher’s guide, but it requires you to go on the Internet to see it.

There are also about half a dozen trailers that were shown in theatres to promote the film.

I really like the behind-the-scenes feature, which had Al Pacino discussing the role of Shylock. Jeremy Irons discusses the role of Antonio. The director and other actors also discuss the film.

You can also play the movie with commentary.

Opinion

Shakespeare’s play is commonly considered to be anti-Semitic. Shylock, the Jew, is mistreated from the beginning and the audience is expected to laugh at him. This film, on the other hand, shows Shylock in a much more sympathetic light. In fact, he becomes the central character, while the love story takes a back seat to the tale of revenge.

I did not want to like this movie, but I couldn’t help myself. It isn’t just that I like Al Pacino (I remember seeing the dark-haired Italian actor in Serpico and falling in love with him back in the dark ages, when I was young).

I like the way it humanizes Shylock and exposes the frivolous lifestyle of Bassanio.

Watch it, watch it twice, think about it.

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