The drama in Shakespeare’s Tempest comes from Prospero’s desire to regain his social status as Duke of Milan, and return to his home. Prospero, the Duke of Milan and a powerful magician, was banished from Italy and cast to sea by his usurping brother, Antonio, and Alonso, the king of Naples. Prospero frequently hints at his plans to bring his enemies before him and to confront them for their treachery. Prospero also hints at his plans to relinquish his magic once he has confronted and forgiven his enemies.
The drama in Mazursky’s Tempest comes from the strain of marriage, and the illusion that running away can solve life’s problems. While it is nice to run and have a break from one’s problems, we can never really escape them until they have been dealt with. Phillip never chooses to deal with his problems, so much as fate seems to intervene when Alonzo’s yacht happens to pass by Phillip’s hideaway island. Reminiscent of Prospero, Phillip seems to conjure a storm from nowhere that causes Alonzo’s yacht to capsize, landing his former boss and his wife on the island with him.
In The Tempest, Shakespeare touches on nearly every human emotion—from Prospero’s plans of vengeance to his eventual forgiveness of Alonso and the people that exiled him—all with a love story, and comedy thrown in the mix. Mazursky’s interpretation shows us a more modern take on the classic tale of The Tempest. In modern times, with the monarch all but gone, we don’t really have a Duke to overthrow and send into exile, so he uses an architect that has become trapped in himself and his marriage.
Mazursky tells a story very different from Shakespeare’s while retaining enough of the story’s elements that the audience can find similarities between the two productions. Mazursky’s version keeps intact many of the characters of the play, only changing their names slightly. Mazursky keeps the sprit of the humor, the love story, and the magic of Prospero’s tempest, which lands his “enemies” on the island.
One of the things I find interesting about the two versions is where the actual tempest takes place. In Shakespeare’s Tempest the storm is used as part of the rising action; it is used in the beginning to set in motion the events to bring about Prospero’s vengeance. In Mazursky’s version, it is used as more of a climax toward the end of the story; the tempest is what brings all the characters together and ends the year of hiding out on the island. Mazursky presents his version in a modern way that many can relate to; relationships and marriages never seem to last anymore. It’s common to see middle aged men run away during a midlife crisis, or a women take on an affair. What better crisis in modern times for Phillip to deal with? He has a job, and a wife he has grown to hate. Phillip puts his life on hold by quitting his job and leaving for Greece. For eighteen months he lives in what he believes is paradise, while Aretha and Miranda grow to hate it there, and Kalibanos just wants his island back.
The Tempest has many elements that can be interpreted and compared to modern society. It serves as a reminder that throughout all the evils, dangers, mishaps or whatever conflict we may face, fate still plays an unpredictable role that can be unstoppable.
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