The Merchant Of Venice (2004)

In my opinion, The Merchant of Venice, at first, didn't capture my attention at all. It seemed boring, a film I wouldn't watch for pleasure. However, as the plot progressed, it started to appeal to me, the plot twists gripped me into wondering if it will end the way I think it will or take another direction and completely shock me.

The plot is pretty basic, two people from two different religions who don't get along. The Jewish money lender lends the christian some money with a promise that if he doesn't pay the debt back, Shylock shall have a pound of flesh from Antonio. They both go to court later in the film to find out their fate.

All the characters were portrayed well, especially Shylock. He portrayed the wealthy money lending jewish man excellently. Frequent arguements about inequalities between the jewish and Christian people intrigued me. Al Pacino played this strong willed character who is passionate about his religion. He is shown to be both the victim and criminal during the film.

Portia and Narissa were conveyed as cunning females who are very passionate about their lovers and would do anything for them. This is shown throughout the film using emotive language.

Antonio's and Bassanio's relationship is very strong throughout the film as Antonio is willing to risk his life to help Bassanio. Antonio lends money from Shylock in order to lend it to Bassanio so he can marry Portia, the woman he loves.

The setting was very dark and shadowy to convey the time of which the film was set. The setting was used cleverly to reflect Antonio's work in trade as Venice was a hotspot for trade at the time.

In conclusion, the film was quite entertaining with various twists in the plot. A good film to watch.