Ganymede Film Analysis

Even though Branagh fails to deceive the audience with Ganymede's feminine looks, his flaw does play in his favor during the scene in which Phoebe presumably falls in love with Ganymede. Phoebe never beholds that Ganymede is a woman in disguise, and she presumes she fell in love with a man. However, the film perfectly shows Shakespeare's intention of having Phoebe fall in love with a woman without her knowing so. Recalling Ganymede's feminine appearance, when Phoebe declares her love for Ganymede, the audience genuinely witnesses Phoebe sigh, play with her hair in a flirtatious way, and clearly stare into a woman's eyes. Despite Branagh's lack of cross-dressing technique obscuring, though not eradicating, the homoeroticism during the most

Howard's performing style intensifies the meaning of dialogue during certain scenes by showing facial expressions and body movements. While Orlando acts out his love for Rosalind with Ganymede and asks Celia to be the priest and marry them, the dialogue itself is homoerotic enough in the sense that Orlando gives consent to "have each other" and agrees to marry Ganymede, whom he takes for Rosalind (IV.i.111-130). However, when Bryce is performing Ganymede's dialogue, not only is Ganymede supposed to hold hands with Orlando during that particular scene, but Howard indeed cries as Ganymede happily says: "I do take thee, Orlando, for my husband," and even tries to kiss him as well (IV.i.132). Had Howard resembled an authentic man with facial hair added to her disguise, the scene when Ganymede tries to kiss Orlando would have strongly portrayed a homoerotic moment, and could have also been the most homoerotic in the entire film. Furthermore, as funny as a comedy film can attain, Orlando follows the fake wedding procedures and deeply stares into Ganymede's eyes, almost as if he would try to kiss him as well. When Orlando says: "I take some joy to say you are [Rosalind], because I would be talking of her," in the film he grabs and holds him tightly with the arms around his waist and shows an impulse as if he desires to kiss Ganymede. Notice how in the picture below Orlando seems to be holding a female rather than Ganymede. Technically speaking, Ganymede is Rosalind disguised, but going back to the previously stated conflict, the viewer could easily forget that in this scene, Ganymede and Orlando act out Orlando's love for Rosalind. Nonetheless, Orlando does not know that Ganymede is Rosalind, and yet seems to feel physically attracted to Ganymede as if he liked him more than Rosalind as he claims. A piece of evidence that