The Merchant of Venice is a film based on the William Shakespeare comedy of the same name. I say comedy, but it is also pretty dramatic as well. Actually, the film adaptation plays much more like a drama with moments of comedic relief.

The director of the film, Michael Radford, chose to focus on the more dramatic elements of the play, which works well based on the content. Looking at the above quote there are certainly some sinister machinations working in the background, with revenge as its main goal.

Al Pacino's Shylock is a Jewish moneylender who has been looked down and even spat upon simply because of his heritage. After years of being mistreated the Shylock decides to make an example out of a merchant named Antonio, who has sought his help soon after injuring the Shylock's pride.

As in most of Shakespeare's comedies the young lovers live happily ever after, while the villain of the story (and I use that term lightly here) gets their comeuppance. It would have been easy to end on a simple happy note and watch the young lovers rejoice, but instead Radford shows a defeated Shylock sailing off while his daughter Jessica watches sadly. I perceive this to mean even the happiest moments can come at a price and while the Shylock sought unreasonable retribution, perhaps there is a layer to him that has gone unexplored. Perhaps he wasn't the villain at all. One might even argue that the scheming Bassanio or the cruel Antonio are the real antagonists. And they get their happy ending, because the Shylock, a broken and dispirited old man, sought retribution for the many insults born upon him.

Without getting into the antisemitic debate that rages on centuries later, I will say that Radford's interpretation of the Shylock was very evenhanded. Early on he portrays him very sympathetically, only to have him take an almost villainous turn at the end. This of course is due to how the Bard wrote the play, but having seen other productions of Merchant..., it would be easy to portray the Shylock strictly one way or the other throughout the entire story. Luckily, Radford chose to display both sides, which in turn gave Pacino the opportunity to flex his various acting muscles.

Pacino is a true powerhouse in this picture as he hordes the truly dramatic elements of this play, with some very strong support from Jeremy Irons. As one of the only American actors in the film, Pacino gets to play with his accent and elocution a bit more than the other actors who are portraying Chrisitan Venetians, with heavy British accents. And not only does he deliver in this respect, but the manner in which he emotes throughout the film is unparalleled by any other performance.

This is an overall excellent adaptation of the Bard's work. The pace is perfect, while the integrity of the play's structure is maintained all the way to the very end. Each and every performance is a noteworthy one, with Pacino capping it off with his amazing talent. A definite must see, especially for lovers of William Shakespeare.