''Love's Labour's Lost'' is a 2000 British

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film written, directed by, and starring

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

. It is an adaptation of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

’s early comic play of the same name and marks the first feature-length film version of this lesser-known work. The

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

features a mix of Shakespearean veterans, including

Timothy Spall Timothy Leonard Spall ( ; born 27 February 1957) is an English actor. He gained recognition for his character actor roles on stage and screen. In 2000, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. S ...

Richard Briers Richard David Briers (14 January 1934 – 17 February 2013) was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television. Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in '' Marriage Lines'' (1961–66), but ...

, and

Geraldine McEwan Geraldine McEwan (born Geraldine McKeown; 9 May 1932 – 30 January 2015) was an English actress, who had a long career in film, theatre and television. Michael Coveney described her, in a tribute article, as "a great comic stylist, with ...

, as well as Hollywood actors

Alicia Silverstone Alicia Silverstone ( ; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress. She made her film debut in the thriller ''The Crush (1993 film), The Crush'' (1993), earning the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance, and gained further pro ...

and

Matthew Lillard Matthew Lyn Lillard (born January 24, 1970) is an American actor. His film work includes Chip Sutphin in '' Serial Mom'' (1994), Emmanuel "Cereal Killer" Goldstein in '' Hackers'' (1995), Stu Macher in '' Scream'' (1996), Stevo in '' SLC Punk!'' ...

, and stage performers such as

Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. Since 1975, he has been Nathan Lane on screen and stage, on stage and screen in both comedic and dramatic roles. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Na ...

and

Jimmy Yuill James Evander Munro Yuill (born 13 February 1956) is a Scottish actor. He is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and later joined the Renaissance Theatre Company. He has appeared in many of Kenneth Branagh's films, most recently as Edwa ...

. The film was released in the United Kingdom and United States in 2000 by

Miramax Films Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

. It received mixed reviews from critics and emerged as a

box-office disappointment A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

, grossing approximately $284,291 in the United States against a production budget of $13 million. In response to its commercial failure, Miramax shelved a planned three-picture deal with Branagh. He would later return to Shakespearean adaptations with ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'' in 2006.

Plot

The King of

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

has vowed to avoid romantic entanglements to spend three years in study and contemplation. His chief courtiers agree to follow him in this vow, though one (Berowne) argues that they will not be able to fulfill this plan. Berowne's claim is proven correct almost instantly. The Princess of France comes to Navarre to discuss the status of the province of

Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...

. Though the King does not grant them access to his palace (they are forced to camp outside), each of the courtiers falls in love with one of her handmaidens, and the King falls in love with the Princess herself. The men attempt to hide their own loves and expose those of their fellows. After a masked ball in which the pairs of lovers are comically mismatched, all the amours are revealed. Costard leads a musical number with the King's court, which eventually includes the entire cast. But as the song closes, a messenger arrives with news of the King of France's death. As the year of mourning that will proceed for the princess and her ladies means further courtship is impossible, and the women had until this point treated the men's courtship as nothing but a mocking merriment to entertain their guests, they request demonstrations of humility and constancy from the men, with a promise to marry them at the end of the 12 months if they carry out these acts. Newsreel footage shows the character's lives over the course of that year, which takes place in the context of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The montage ends with all those who survived the war (Boyet we specifically see die in some covert military action) reuniting in celebration on what appears to be

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

. The comic underplot of the original play, in which Costard and others attempt to stage a play (rather like that of the

rude mechanicals The mechanicals are six characters in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' who perform the play-within-a-play ''Pyramus and Thisbe''. They are a group of amateur and mostly incompetent actors from around Athens, looking to make names for themselves by h ...

in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'') is severely curtailed, as is the boasting of the Spaniard, Don Armado. Set in the late 1930s, the King of

and his three courtiers—Berowne, Longaville, and Dumaine—pledge to renounce romance for three years in favor of scholarly pursuits. Berowne, skeptical of the vow's feasibility, is quickly proven right when the Princess of France arrives with her three ladies to negotiate the status of

. Denied entry into the palace, the women camp outside, and the men soon fall in love with them—each courtier with one of the ladies, and the King with the Princess herself. The men attempt to hide their affections while exposing those of their companions. A

masked ball ''Masked Ball'' () is a 1917 Hungarian film directed by Alfréd Deésy and featuring Béla Lugosi and Norbert Dan. The screenplay was written by Francesco Maria Piave, Eugène Scribe and Antonio Somma. It was based on the opera '' Un ballo in mas ...

leads to mismatched pairings and mistaken identities, after which all feelings are revealed. Costard leads a musical number involving the entire court. A messenger then arrives with news of the King of France’s death. The Princess and her ladies, entering a year of mourning, ask the men to demonstrate humility and constancy, promising to marry them at the end of twelve months if they succeed. A montage of newsreel footage depicts the characters’ lives during

. Some participate in the war effort, while Boyet is shown dying during a covert operation. Those who survive reunite in celebration on what appears to be

. The comic subplot from the original play, involving

Costard Costard is a comic figure in the play '' Love's Labour's Lost'' by William Shakespeare. A country bumpkin, he is arrested in the first scene for flouting the king's proclamation that all men of the court avoid the company of women for three yea ...

, Don Armado, and a staged performance, is significantly abbreviated.

Cast

Several characters in the film adaptation—Gaston, Isabelle, Eugene, Jaques, Beatrice, Hyppolyte, Celimene, and Sophie—do not appear in Shakespeare's original text and have no dialogue in the film. Their inclusion follows a pattern common in Branagh’s Shakespeare adaptations, such as ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'' (1996), which also featured numerous non-speaking walk-on roles absent from the original play but listed in the cast credits.

Production

Development

became interested in ''Love's Labour's Lost'' during the 1984

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

season, when he portrayed the King of

. At the time, he was familiar with

Harley Granville-Barker Harley Granville-Barker (25 November 1877 – 31 August 1946) was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, he increasingly turned to directing a ...

’s influential essay suggesting that the play could be approached as highly stylized, with its dialogue and action rendered in a rhythm akin to musical phrasing. Inspired by this interpretation, Branagh expanded the concept further, adapting the play into a 1930s-style Hollywood musical. This marked the most radical reinterpretation among his Shakespeare adaptations, risking alienation of both audiences and critics. The film incorporated classic songs by

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

, and

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

and

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...

, allowing Branagh to pay homage to the musicals he admired in his youth. Unlike his 1996 adaptation of ''Hamlet'', which preserved the full text, Branagh significantly condensed ''Love's Labour's Lost'', retaining only about a quarter of Shakespeare's original lines. Although all seventeen of the play’s speaking roles were kept, some characters—particularly those among the lower classes—had their parts greatly reduced or rendered silent.

Casting

Branagh cast the film with little emphasis on singing or dancing experience. Drawing inspiration from

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

’s ''Everyone Says I Love You'' (1996), he aimed for energy and enthusiasm over technical polish. Among the ensemble, only

had an established background in musical theatre. The cast included a blend of Shakespearean performers and film actors, including

Alessandro Nivola Alessandro Antine Nivola (born June 28, 1972) is an American actor. His work includes both screen and stage, and his accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for a Tony Award and an Independent Spirit Award. Ni ...

Adrian Lester Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey on 14 August 1968) is a British actor. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the London stage, an ...

, and Branagh himself. Several characters who appear in the film—such as Gaston, Isabelle, Eugene, Jaques, Beatrice, Hyppolyte, Celimene, and Sophie—are not found in the original play and have no lines in the adaptation. Their inclusion follows Branagh’s pattern from ''Hamlet'', which featured additional non-speaking roles credited in the cast.

Filming

The film’s

pre-production Pre-production is the process of planning some of the elements involved in a film, television show, play, video game, or other performance, as distinct from production and post-production. Pre-production ends when the planning ends and the co ...

phase focused heavily on dance and vocal training. Cast members underwent rigorous coaching to prepare for the musical numbers, which were staged in the style of Golden Age Hollywood choreography. Musical sequences were tightly integrated with the adapted Shakespearean dialogue, requiring precise coordination. The narrative was transposed to the prelude and aftermath of , with the ending montage—set to newsreel-style footage—depicting the characters’ fates during and after the war, culminating in a celebratory reunion resembling

Music

In adapting the play into a musical, Branagh incorporated a selection of classic songs—primarily from the 1930s and 1940s—to replace large portions of Shakespeare’s dialogue and underscore the film’s homage to Golden Age Hollywood. These include: *I'd Rather Charleston (George Gershwin/Desmond Carter) *I Get a Kick Out of You (

) *

I Won't Dance "I Won't Dance" is a song with music by Jerome Kern that has become a jazz standard. The song has two different sets of lyrics: the first written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach in 1934, and second written by Dorothy Fields (though Jimm ...

(

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...

Dorothy Fields Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote more than 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include " The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (193 ...

) *

No Strings (I'm Fancy Free) "No Strings (I'm Fancy Free)" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1935 film ''Top Hat'', where it was introduced by Fred Astaire. In the film, the character played by Astaire is advised to get married and Astaire responds by saying ...

(

) *

The Way You Look Tonight "The Way You Look To-night" is a song from the film '' Swing Time'' that was performed by Fred Astaire and composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by Dorothy Fields. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936. Fields remarked, ...

(Jerome Kern/

) *

I've Got a Crush on You "I've Got a Crush on You" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It is unique among Gershwin compositions in that it was used for two different Broadway productions: ''Treasure Girl'' (1928), when it was introduced by ...

(George Gershwin/

) *

Cheek to Cheek "Cheek to Cheek" is a song written by Irving Berlin in 1934–35, specifically for Fred Astaire, the star of his new musical, ''Top Hat'', co-starring Ginger Rogers.

(Irving Berlin) *

Let's Face the Music and Dance "Let's Face the Music and Dance" is a song published in 1936 by Irving Berlin for the film ''Follow the Fleet'', where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and featured in a celebrated dance duet with Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The jazz song has a ...

(Irving Berlin) *

There's No Business Like Show Business "There's No Business Like Show Business" is an Irving Berlin song, written for the 1946 musical '' Annie Get Your Gun'' and orchestrated by Ted Royal. The song, a slightly tongue-in-cheek salute to the glamour and excitement of a life in show ...

(Irving Berlin) * They Can't Take That Away From Me (George Gershwin/Ira Gershwin)

Release

Box office

''Love's Labour's Lost'' was not a commercial success. In the United Kingdom, it opened on 31 March 2000, grossing £143,649 from 186 screens during its opening weekend. In the United States, it opened on 11 June 2000 in two theaters, earning $24,496 in its opening weekend. The film's total domestic gross was $284,291, against a production budget of $13 million.

Critical reception

''Love's Labour's Lost'' received mixed reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, it holds a 50% approval rating based on 68 reviews, with an average rating of 5.54/10. The site's consensus states: "Interesting idea, poor execution."

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

reports a weighted average score of 35 out of 100, based on 29 critic reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

described the film as "winsome, charming, sweet and slight," awarding it two and a half out of four stars. He noted that while the film had appeal, it lacked substance, attributing some shortcomings to the original play's material. Critics like

Stanley Kauffmann Stanley Kauffmann (April 24, 1916 – October 9, 2013) was an American writer, editor, and critic of film and theater. Career Kauffmann started with ''The New Republic'' in 1958 and contributed film criticism to that magazine for the next 55 ye ...

and John Simon were less favorable. Kauffmann criticized the casting as "dull" and "dreadful," expressing concern over the significant reduction of Shakespeare's original dialogue. Simon found little redeeming in the adaptation, highlighting issues with performances and the adaptation's approach. Conversely, some reviews were more positive.

Derek Elley Derek Elley (born ) is an American film and music critic and author, best known as the resident film critic for '' Variety'' until his departure in March 2010. With over 1200 reviews to his credit as of December 2014 on ''Rotten Tomatoes'', he spe ...

of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' described the film as a "luscious labor of love," praising its homage to classic Hollywood musicals.

James Berardinelli James Berardinelli (born September 25, 1967) is an American film critic. His reviews are mainly published on his blog ''ReelViews.'' Approved as a critic by the aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, he has published two collections of reviews of movies on ...

gave the film three out of four stars, acknowledging its unique blend of Shakespearean elements with musical and slapstick components, concluding that it was "an enjoyable trifle" for those open to its stylistic choices.

Accolades

References

External links

* * * {{Love's Labour's Lost 2000 films 2000 musical films 2000 romantic comedy films 2000s musical comedy films 2000s romantic musical films British musical comedy films British romantic comedy films British romantic musical films Films based on Love's Labour's Lost Films directed by Kenneth Branagh Films with screenplays by Kenneth Branagh Films produced by Kenneth Branagh Films produced by David Barron Films scored by Patrick Doyle Films shot at Shepperton Studios Jukebox musical films Miramax films Modern adaptations of works by William Shakespeare Films set in libraries StudioCanal films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films English-language romantic comedy films English-language romantic musical films English-language musical comedy films