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Anarchy: Ride or Die. Dir. Michael Almereyda. Benaroya Pictures / Keep Your Head Productions, 2014.
The primary aim of most screen adaptations of early modern plays is to appeal to broad audiences, and one way to accomplish that goal is to address younger spectators. In this regard, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996) was a prime example: wise casting choices enabled exasperated passions to be forcefully played by young and talented actors in a contemporary context. Following in Luhrmann's footsteps, Michael Almereyda also opted for two young actors for the roles of Posthumus and Imogen in his screen adaptation of Cymbeline, released under the title Anarchy: Ride or Die in the UK in September 2015 and six months earlier in the USA, first as Anarchy and then as Cymbeline. But Penn Badgley and Dakota Johnson's acting in Almereyda's film lacked sensibility and depth, partly due to an evident uneasiness with early modern English, which entirely spoiled the rendition of their love story. To further appeal to a younger audience, Philario, friend to Posthumus's father in the original play, and Cloten, the son of the Queen, were also cast as young men, marking a sensible difference from the much more static and classical 1982 BBC adaptation by Elijah Moshinsky. However, aided by Posthumus's juvenile weakness, the accent on the dramatic strength of his forbidden love for Imogen soon faded into a clear turn towards violence and brutality, aimed at foregrounding the upcoming battle between Britons and Romans.
The film's opening explanatory musical introduction of characters and events...