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Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice is one of his more difficult plays, and its arguably anti-Semitic content has tended to scare off film-makers. But here Radford has beautifully rendered the tale, set in Venice in 1596, and given it a cultural context that generates sympathy for all sides. Pacino steals the screen as Shylock, the reviled Jewish money lender who lends Antonio (Irons) enough to enable Bassanio (Fiennes) to win the hand of the lovely Portia (Collins). Both Irons and Fiennes give measured performances, their dark prejudices bursting eloquently through characters drawn principally as heroic. With its lush scenery and costumes framed in colours as strong as the Bard’s language, The Merchant of Venice is a lavish testament to an often overlooked classic.
ANITA JAMES
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