The story treats Shylock very poorly. Even though the Christians hated the Jews, I was surprised that no character could voice any sympathy for Shylock's state of mind. Yes, he comes off as a bit of a monster, choosing to harm Antonio rather than take triple the loan amount, but his daughter had ran away from home to be a Christian and all he had heard about her was that she sold her ring, a precious family heirloom, in exchange for a monkey. Could no other father understand his loss? Plus, we see how inhumanely the Christians treated the Jews. While it might be an accurate reflection of the judicial system at the time, Shylock shouldn't have been so severely punished when no harm comes to Antonio and Bassanio. They are just as culpable in their poor judgments and should suffer some penalty.
The film should have ended there, but then we get this long, boring scene after the climax of the courtroom back in Belmont where Portia and Nerissa playfully scold their loves, Bassanio and Gratiano, for giving away rings that the men promised to keep forever. For some reason, the women felt the need to put the men to the test when they were in Venice. Bassanio wanted to thank the lawyer, a disguised Portia, who saved his friend Antonio from death, but the only thing the lawyer would accept was Portia's ring. Since he loved his friend Antonio more than the ring, he thought it was a fair payment. Portia should have understood and not made it an issue. How Nerissa, disguised as the lawyer's clerk, got the ring from Gratiano doesn't make any sense. He wasn't indebted to the clerk, so what would his motivation be? He comes off looking like a fool and Nerissa should dump him.
Aside from my minor plot quibbles I enjoyed The Merchant of Venice. It should do well if they can sell the movie as being a legal drama. Maybe drop in the "dun-dun" from Law and Order in commercials.
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