The Tempest: A Film Critic’s Opinion by Pat Visconti

Paul Mazursky’s 1982 film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest has a slow start; be patient, nestle in your seat, and view the film with a comparison of the two genres in mind. I must point out that an understanding, perhaps even a love, of Shakespeare’s play is necessary to follow Mazursky’s film. In the play, Prospero, exiled from his home, perfects his magic to take revenge on his enemies and re-claim his dukedom. 12 years after being exiled, conjures a tempest, shipwrecks his enemies, and his brother Antonio convinces the others to help in his plan to kill Alonso, King of Naples. The murder plots turn into a rollercoaster ride of who is after whom. In the end, Prospero forgives his enemies and they are reconciled.

The play explores the dynamics of master-servant relationships in turmoil that create an interruption of harmony between the characters. At the play’s beginning, Boatswain displays anger towards the noblemen, and creates the possibility of a shipwreck. From here, the master-servant relationship dominates the play. One relationship is Prospero and Caliban. Even though Prospero is furious with his brothers for subjugating him, he willfully does the same to Caliban. He enslaves Caliban, takes his place as ruler of the island and demands loyalty. Prospero controls Ariel after releasing him from Sycorax’s prison in a tree. Arile must now do Prospero’s bidding until Prospero no longer needs him. Prospero has a master-servant (father/daughter) relationship with Miranda that is complicated with her natural romantic desire, lack of human contact, and Prospero’s unwillingness to accept her as a young woman. Other master/servant relationships between the characters are Alonso and his court (Sebastian, Antonio, Gonzalo, Stephano, Trinculo).

Mazursky is successful using concepts of contracts and control in the film to express his interpretation of the master-servant relationship. Phillip, an overachieving middle-aged man, is contracted under his employer and chained to a weak marriage contract, is questioning his life. Phillip sees Alonzo (his employer) and Antonia (his wife) as the two main causes of his dis-satisfaction. Alonzo represents everything that has become an undesirable part of Phillip’s ambitious career. Already questioning his desires in life, his discontent escalates into his marriage. Phillip tells his father there is not another woman and, “the money and power don’t mean anything.” His father tells him to accept things as they are. Phillip makes a complete break; he leaves civilization and retreats to the Greek Isles with his daughter Miranda. However, he cannot escape the social contracts in civilized cultures. Kalibanos’s sexual advances towards pubescent Miranda create a tension between nature and civilization—one the very thing Phillip is escaping from (but can’t), the other the very thing he believes he can gain control over (but can’t). This sub-plot of control shows how human kind tries to bend nature to its desires. True to the play, Phillip conjures a tempest and that traumatic event leads to the family forgiving one another. They return to their former lives enriched from the experience.

In this critic’s view, see a local theater production of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest and spend a rainy afternoon enjoying Paul Mazursky’s 1982 film. The two genres tie together nicely.