Gibson vs. Pacino

As I was viewing the film of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, I found myself making comparisons between Al Pacino’s version of Shylock, and Mel Gibson’s portrayal of the character in his self-directed film, Man Without a Face.

Gibson’s film portrays a young boy in the 1960s that wants to attend a military academy for high school. To do so, he must pass an examination, and unfortunately, though he is extremely intelligent, he has a very difficult time learning things for academics. To pass the exam, he must be fairly well versed in Shakespeare, Latin, and mathematics. That’s where Gibson comes into play. His character is a man who has been in a terrible car accident, leaving half of his body burned (man without a face). He is something of a town hermit, but at one time, he was an excellent tutor. He begins to tutor the boy.

There is a scene in the movie where the boy is attempting to read poetry, in fact, it is the first scene in the Merchant of Venice, but he is butchering it. He is reading it allowed, and is so monotonous that Gibson explains that these plays are meant to be played for an audience. They begin to hash out the play, switching characters between the two of them, and the film only pans in on the more famous lines of the play.

Gibson plays Shylock, and they show his famous “Hath not a Jew eyes” speech. This is the first time that I ever experienced listening to this speech. Gibson performs it with such conviction and passion, and his voice is so incredibly musical, I could barely stand it when I was forced to listen to Pacino’s version.

Pacino, to me, did not possess the same magical quality that Gibson brought to the stage. Because of the disability that Gibson allegedly had, his character was incredibly passionate about this speech. No one in the town accepted him, and in many ways, he felt exactly like Shylock. He was an outsider, someone that the entire town made mocked constantly, and something of gossip. Gibson’s character so perfectly portrayed Shylock that this picture of the character is constantly imprinted in my mind.

Though I believe that the film we watched of the Merchant of Venice was an excellent rendition, I found it difficult at times to completely believe it. I believe that when a person views a play for the first time, that is the way the characters will always be portrayed in his/her eyes. There is no question that another actor could recite the lines, and act it out very well, but to me, there will never be another Shylock other than Mel Gibson. (451)