CinéfestOZ Film Festival 2019: MEASURE FOR MEASURE

Sometimes films arrive with an unforeseeable relevancy that mar their releases; Gangster Squad encountered a substantial wave of controversy when its climactic cinema-set shootout chillingly mirrored the 2012 Aurora shootings, tearing the fine-line between fantasy and film – and now, seven years later, Paul Ireland’s Measure For Measure has unwittingly landed at the worst possible time. Co-written by the late Damien Hill, this urban Shakespeare adaptation is, like most of the English playwright’s celebrated works, a tragedy where the divide between good and evil is often crossed for the sake of revenge or romance.

This adaptation brutally inducts its audience with what shall be its major source of controversy; the multicultural tenants of a high-rise apartment block are rattled when a PTSD-afflicted ice addict melts down and massacres several civilians with a revolver before swift vigilante justice steps in. This event leaves the diverse community shattered, and over the course of several hectic days, Paul Ireland and Damien Hill’s script examines the jagged fragments left behind. It’s disturbing in both its immediacy and tragic verisimilitude, but it also unfortunately recalls the recent Sydney stabbing incident, where a mentally-ill man killed one woman and injured others, until he was subdued by a group of brave civilians (with the notable weapon of choice being a milk crate).

The Ripple Effect

Like any catastrophe, people are quick to identify a definitive “reason” for this random attack, with blame promptly landing at the feet of local crime lord Duke (Hugo Weaving, seizing the screen with his familiar level of arched gravitas), who is forced to take an isolated vacation until the heated situation settles. Leaving his leather-bound throne to wide-eyed drug dealer Angelo (Mark Leonard Winter), who, when he’s not eyeing another way to expand their empire, is gazing at his Muslim neighbour Jaiwarra (Meagan Hajjar), who has just started a romance with aspiring musician Claudio (Harrison Gilbertson), a relationship founded on the shared trauma of their recent experience.

This is Shakespeare though, so no relationship can go by unpunished; Claudio and Jaiwarra’s interracial relationship is regarded as forbidden by Jaiwarra’s brother, gun runner Farouk (The Merger breakout star Fayssal Bazzi). All these conflicted residents are thrust together and torn apart in equal measures (hah) underneath the watchful eye of Duke, who is secretly hiding in another flat, playing God whilst learning he’s closer to meeting him (a reveal divulged in the age-old trick of coughing up blood into a tissue, with the classic cliches not stopping there).

Damien Hill’s other high-profile releases, Pawno and West of Sunshine, also delved into a sprawling cast of characters who each shared a similar pathos; corner-store criminals with hearts of gold who’re offered short-term attempts at redemption, whether or not they take the opportunity to flourish is the foundation – and collapse – of each individual’s respective arcs (or lack thereof). Despite the explosive beginning, the bulk of Measure for Measure settles for the scattered, but subdued, style of his proceeding projects.

Waging Wars

The tendency to treat each new plot development with a thick heaping of melodrama undercuts its glaring social critique though, with each new teardrop (and there is plenty) or pained outcry being matched with an accompanying surge in the sentimental score. Whilst the technical sloppiness of this production can be forgiven due to its independent nature and sharp focus on performance over aesthetic (the opening credits in particular are quite rough), it’s hard to pin down exactly what this latest Shakespearean interpretation is trying to say, it seemingly harbours the same sentimental approach to complicated racial politics that submerged Paul Haggis’ painfully dated Crash.

In fact, this subversion of the classic Guy Ritchie/Quentin Tarantino formula – where a gaggle of gangsters feud and talk fast until there’s only one man standing – is Measure For Measure’s greatest strength and weakness. Ireland’s pragmatic attitude always keeps one foot firmly in reality, with the escalating war between the apartment’s occupants predominantly settled with words, not weapons. There’s an inherently cyclical nature to violence – especially when vengeance enters the picture, hence the title – but the optimism prone to Hill’s work supposes that maybe, turning the other cheek may benefit everybody instead.

Measure for Measure: Conclusion

As a tribute to the late, great Damien Hill, Measure For Measure is a worthy testimonial to the talents of a gifted screenwriter and actor who left us too soon. As another modern reworking of a classic Shakespeare story, anchored by the commanding presence of Hugo Weaving, Paul Ireland’s much anticipated follow-up to Pawno is just too cluttered, riddled with characters who wallow in their own histrionics far too often, within situations that lack any real distinctive qualities.

There’s a considerable spirit to this production, but a firmer grasp upon this rich material could’ve worked wonders – or, to be more inline with Hill’s hardened characters, it had the chance to be better.

What are some of your favourite Shakespeare adaptations? Let us know in the comments below!

Measure For Measure is currently touring Australian film festivals, with a theatrical release due in 2020.