Love’s Labour’s Lost

Kenneth Branagh stars in this frothy but bittersweet Shakespearean comedy about love and romance. The King of Navarre and his three companions swear a very public oath to study together and to renounce women for three years. Their honour is immediately put to the test by the arrival of the Princess of France her three lovely companions., Actor/director Kenneth Branagh sets his screen version of Shakespeare’s play in the 1930s, adding such classic songs as “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” “The Way You Look Tonight,” and “Let’s Face the Music and Dance,” and staging it in the manner of a Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical. The King of Navarre (Allesandro Nivola) and three of his noblemen (Branagh, Matthew Lillard, and Adrien Lester) have decided that they’re wasting their time chasing women. They swear a solemn oath to spend the next three years avoiding the pitfalls of romance and improving their minds. No sooner have they made this agreement than they meet a French princess (Alicia Silverstone) and her three handmaidens (Natascha McElhone, Carmen Ejogo, and Emily Mortimer). The pledge is forgotten and the chase is on. Love’s Labour’s Lost also features Nathan Lane, Timothy Spall, and Paul Whitehouse., Actor-director Kenneth Branagh updates Shakespeare’s romantic comedy in the style of a classic ’30s musical in this delightful battle of the sexes. The story centers on a king and his three comrades, who swear an oath to renounce women for three years. But their honor is immediately put to the test when a beautiful French princess (Alicia Silverstone) arrives with three lovely companions. Alessandro Nivola.