Ken Branagh uses the influence of reality upon Shakespeare’s classic play in order to ensure that the audience is fully aware of the weight of the story. In his directorial debut, he chose to stay away from the comical elements of the play and instead play them with a serious tone so as not to minimize the realities of war. He also shoots the battle on St. Crispin’s Day in the rain and mud to further emphasize the filth of war.
Branagh has Derek Jacobi play The Chorus and dresses him in clothing from modern times, while everyone else in the film is dressed in period attire. This allows the audience to be connected to a story that seems so distant in the past. Branagh also uses understated symbolism to add depth to his scenes, such as the English flag being drug through the mud during battle. He also separates Henry’s memories from the main action of the story by showing a younger Henry in the light of fire and candles with Falstaff and Bardolph. This imagery helps to separate the time period and allow us a deeper view into the mind of the King whose conscience weighs heavy on him.
The director also uses simple camera moves to great effect. For example, when Nell Quickly is speaking of Falstaff being in heaven or hell he slowly pushes in from a wide to an extreme close up to get us inside of her soul as she speaks of the afterlife. Then he pulls out in the same speech and it is just then that a joke is made and laughter begins to fill the screen. It’s as if the camera was taking us to a deep dark place and then pulling out it was like taking a refreshing breath and waking us from this state of darkness back into reality. Another truly epic shot is of Henry carrying Robin’s lifeless body after the battle on St. Crispin’s Day. Branagh uses a long tracking shot as the King carries the young boy for hundreds of feet until he can lay him down in a wagon full of the dead. The shot evokes a tremendous amount of emotion as with every step the boy’s body gets heavier and his weight is directly on the King, the reason for his death.
Branagh would go on to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for this, his debut film.
