Synopsis
The Merchant of Venice (2004) is Michael Radford's screen take on Shakespeare's play, and you can watch it online on iFILM. In late-16th-century Venice, young Bassanio asks his merchant friend Antonio for money to court the wealthy heiress Portia. Antonio's fortune is at sea, so the two turn to the moneylender Shylock.
Shylock, scorned by the city for his faith, grants the loan interest-free but with a chilling clause: default, and he claims a pound of Antonio's own flesh. When Antonio's ships are lost, the bond becomes a death sentence and the matter heads to court. Portia, disguised as a male lawyer, steps in to save him — her speech on mercy sits at the heart of the film.
Al Pacino plays Shylock not as a villain but as an outcast soured by years of contempt, a reading that pulls raw hurt out of a centuries-old text. Around him are Jeremy Irons, Joseph Fiennes, Lynn Collins and a young Charlie Cox. Lush canal-side atmosphere meets a careful, unflinching handle on thorny material. Stream The Merchant of Venice (2004) online on iFILM.
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