A Waste of Shame

From the known facts of Shakespeare's life, scholarly theories and his own imagination, screenwriter/novelist William Boyd has fashioned a fine speculative drama about the creation of the Sonnets. He's done this by projecting the poems' concerns onto the lives of two historical figures, "Will S." and "Will H." (William Herbert, future Earl of Pembroke), and an invented one, a Frenchwoman named Lucie - the "Dark Lady." Yet this 85' TV film is best enjoyed not as an attempted solution to "The Mystery of Shakespeare and his Sonnets" (as the subtitle has it) but as a fictional story on themes of love, lust, disease and mortality, and on the relationship between personal experience and artistic creation. And while there is plenty of wit and humor in both script and performances, the choice of title - from Sonnet 129: "Th'expense of spirit in a waste of shame / Is lust in action..." - signals the fundamentally serious tone of the project.
Though handsomely designed and shot, "A Waste of Shame" is less a grand period spectacle or costume drama like "Shakespeare in Love" than a modest, intimate chamber piece for three actors. Rupert Graves makes a wonderful Will S., suggesting in subtle ways the complex character of a "country boy" who has learned the proper way to act (in all senses) in order to further his career in London. In voiceover, Graves reads fragments from the Sonnets, and reads them beautifully, yet some of the most memorable moments are silent, with the camera focused on his highly expressive face. Tom Sturridge as Will H. projects the right air of adolescent androgyny in the early scenes, and later finds a satisfying balance between aristocratic arrogance, seductive charm and deference to artistic genius. Indira Varma conveys both Lucie's sexual allure and her hardheaded practicality convincingly.
The strong supporting cast (with roughly a dozen named roles) includes Zoe Wanamaker as a warm Countess of Pembroke, Anna Chancellor an embittered Anne Hathaway, Andrew Tiernan a fiercely competitive Ben Jonson and Ian Hughes as publisher Thomas Thorpe, whose dismay when Will S. brings him poems instead of a play is delightful. John McKay has done a fine job directing, and there's an exceptionally good musical score by Kevin Sargent. In the credits, you will see listed as "Academic Advisor" Katherine Duncan-Jones, who as editor has written an excellent introduction to the current Arden Shakespeare edition of the Sonnets. One of the pleasures of "A Waste of Shame" is that it may prompt you to (re-)read these extraordinary poems.

This is really a wonderful piece of movie making. Shakespeare is best known for the plays but anyone who's read the poems has wondered at his raw passion unbridled in the telling of his own lust and longing for both the youth and the dark lady at their core. It's almost as if this story had to be done to set our minds at a kind of rest so we could return to the poems and truly enjoy their open and brilliant examination of the emotions Shakespeare must have felt as he lived the moments that inspired his written word. The acting is top notch on all counts. The three leads are played to perfection with a special nod to Tom Sturridge for capturing all the nuances of the lad becoming the man understanding Shakespeare on different levels at each stage of his own development. He can't top Rupert Graves commanding performance but for one so young he shows an incredibly detailed understanding of his place in this story. An actor to watch...given the chance he'll go to the top. Mr. Graves of course has full rein over his Shakespeare and I never for a moment doubted that he wrote those poems. Indira Varma occupies her bodice with talent rather than physical assets (tho they are formidable) and you can undertand her own torn desires as easily as either of the men, but she, even more than Shakespeare, knows her place in her society and ultimately bases her decisions on the realities of her life. This is something Shakespeare seemed loathe to do yet unlike the other two he had the release of his pen...thus the pressure they must all have felt...he could vent more easily. If you haven't read the poems this will probably make you do so and that is what really counts in the end...the poems...and their universal emotional relevance....

Why did Shakespeare leave London when he was in his prime?
I always wondered if he had the pox. Apparently, I'm not the only one. Since we know so very little about the bard, any number of theories are worthy of speculation. History or lack of it aside, the film is great. I do believe that the great Rupert Graves can take any character, historical or fictional, and give that person a living, complicated, brilliant and unforgettable persona. The rest of the cast is also excellent. I will watch this film again for all the little bits that I may have missed at the first viewing. I recommend this film to anyone who wants to see great acting and an interesting interpretation of the mysterious life of Shakespeare.