Oh God, That She Was a Man: Beatrice and Benedick in Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing

Whedon's MAAN movie poster

Beatrice and Benedick have a history.

Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing brings Shakespeare's comedy into a contemporary, black-and-white world while preserving most of the original language. In doing so, Whedon makes some of the dynamics that Shakespeare only hints at much more visible, particularly the complicated relationship between Beatrice and Benedick. From the opening scene, their previous romantic and sexual relationship is obvious, giving their constant arguments and banter a deeper meaning than it might have had on the page. This past and deeper connection become especially important when Beatrice cries out to Benedick, "O God, that I were a man!" (4.1.320). By looking at Whedon's portrayal of Beatrice and Benedick generally and then examining this scene's dialogue, delivery, physical performances, camera work, and setting, the differences between Shakespeare's source text and this film become much clearer. More interesting still is what those changes do to the story.

Whedon's Beatrice and Benedick

Benedick leaves Beatrice in bed

The choice to make Beatrice and Benedick's prior romantic, and in this case sexual, relationship obvious from the beginning adds a lot of intrigue. The film opens with the two waking up after apparently sleeping together. This history makes the story feel less like enemies to lovers and more like two people finding their way back to each other. While Shakespeare only tells us that Benedick once "lent" Beatrice his heart for a while (2.1.273), Whedon makes that history visible. As the film progresses, their sarcasm and deflection gradually give way to more obvious signs of affection, particularly when they learn the other may still love them. Whedon therefore makes their emotional journey more visually explicit, a choice that becomes especially important in act IV, scene 1, when Beatrice and Benedick confront the aftermath of Hero and Claudio's failed wedding.

Act IV, Scene 1 Close Reading

It is in this scene that all the emotional tension comes to a head. After Claudio slanders Hero's name, the wedding is ruined, and Hero is left humiliated, Beatrice is overwhelmed by anger and helplessness when Benedick finds her in tears. Beatrice, who has thus far been able to face her challenges with confidence and wit, finds she cannot fix this problem with words. She turns to Benedick, asking him to do what she cannot. The way Whedon portrays this scene provides an opportunity to show how Shakespeare's words can be taken and adapted  alongside performance, physical movement, and camera work to make Beatrice's vulnerability and her and Benedick's changing relationship dynamic visible to the audience.

Beatrice sits alone

In Shakespeare's play, Benedick and Beatrice are alone following the failed wedding. While Shakespeare's text indicates no change of scenery from the wedding, the clear privacy of their following conversation gives directors a chance to make the scene perhaps more intimate, which Whedon does, moving their conversation indoors. This choice gives Beatrice time and space to sit alone with her emotions before Benedick comes and finds her. Although both still wear their wedding clothes, her frazzled hair and seemingly smudged eye makeup suggest that she has had time to cry and partially process what happened. She sits alone at a dining table with an empty glass of wine, creating a private space that contrasts with the public disaster of the wedding. Dramatic music plays, heightening her emotions. The empty glass also introduces the possibility of intoxication, complicating whether her later request to kill Claudio is entirely deliberate.

Benedict follows Beatrice

When Benedick enters, the music stops, bringing clarity and leaving the audience with the sounds Beatrice's sniffles and their breathing, intensifying the scene's intimacy and tension, as the quiet beckons viewers to listen closer. Benedick finds her at that table, seated and crying, and when she gets up to refill her wine glass, she avoids his gaze even as they speak and he continues watching her. She walks away from him, and he follows. When she leaves the room, he follows again. From the beginning, these choices Whedon makes establish that Benedick is watching her for cues about what she needs rather than trying to control the situation himself. Her actions lead his reactions.

When Benedick approaches her and tells her, "I do love nothing in the world so well as you," the line is followed by a pause as soft music begins to swell, amplifying his confession, a quiet harmony amid otherwise uncertainty. This following and music-filled pause, unmentioned in the original text, allows Beatrice's reaction to become part of the dialogue. She blinks rapidly, struggles to speak, and breathes unevenly, visibly overwhelmed by the acknowledgment of his love in the midst of the situation. When Benedick smiles at her, she turns away, and he physically turns her shoulders back toward him while repeating his assurance that he loves her. His calmness contrasts sharply with her increasingly erratic emotions. For a moment, his efforts seem to reach her, and she rises, holds his face in her hands, and looks into his eyes before they kiss, each pulling the other closer, choosing each other in the chaos.

Beatrice asks Benedick to kill Claudio

Even so, that moment of connection cannot erase why they are here. While they yet remain physically close, her hands gripping his jacket and hair, she asks him to kill Claudio. At this request, the soft music is silent once more, and no more music occurs throughout her speech, amplifying the words and reactions to come. Benedick pulls back in confusion, and Whedon makes the choice to change his following line from Shakespeare's original text. In line 304, in response, Benedick says, "Ha! Not for the wide world." In the film, that "ha" is removed, allowing the scene to keep a more serious tone. This small change signals that he is truly listening to what Beatrice is saying. Yet at his reply, Beatrice pushes him back and marches away, letting her anger rise to the surface. Benedick follows her, grabbing her arm to catch her attention, but she refuses his touch, denying connection in her distress.

Beatrice gets angry

As she begins her "Oh God, that I were a man!" speech, her physical movements become increasingly forceful. She gestures angrily, striking objects around her and even striking Benedick himself. The camera largely stays focused on her during this speech, even when Benedick speaks between lines. This keeps her at the center of the audience's attention and allows her grief and anger to dominate the scene. Benedick, to some degree, becomes almost background sound at points, amplifying the all-encompassing height of her emotion. Small changes to the text help the emotion become even stronger. In lines 323-325 of Shakespeare's text, Beatrice says, "Talk with a man out at a window! A proper / saying." Interestingly, Whedon's Beatrice adds a simple "oh" before the latter sentence. While it seems so small in the grander scheme, that tiny "oh" holds a great deal of exasperation and annoyance, and the actress beautifully leans into it with anger.

Benedick briefly holds Beatrice

Even when she strikes him repeatedly, Benedick remains calm and even briefly holds her without speaking, and she allows it, signaling a desire for connection before finally pushing away. Benedick lets her continue, and her anger eventually collapses into despair. When she finishes by declaring she will "die a woman with grieving," her voice cracks, amplifying her distress as she sinks down onto the couch, covering her face. Benedick's response here is equally important. The choice to cut the beginning of Benedick's next line and have him go straight to "By this hand, I love / thee," as in lines 339-340, speaks volumes for both this version of Benedick and the dynamic this rendition has been building all along. Rather than dismissing her as too emotional, he chooses to kneel on the floor in front of her, making himself even smaller than her as he calmly asks for clarification. He listens with pure understanding. With his assurance of his love for her, that soft music begins again. Her speech, so framed in music and love declarations as it is, lacks background noise to allow the message to speak louder and for itself. While Shakespeare's play has moments of music, no music was written into this scene originally. While movies have soundtracks, the choice to leave her speech unaccompanied while yet surrounding it with music is a choice that speaks to the speech's own power and importance. The return to the music further complements Benedick's renewed confession of love.

Beatrice lets Benedick take her hand

When Benedick silently asks for her hand, he allows her the choice to give it, and she does give it to him. Her hand in his, he draws her to her feet, almost renewing her strength. He brushes her hair back from her face, refreshing her, and finally, he allows her to leave before him, which also is not written in Shakespeare's text, where they exit together. Whedon allowed Benedick to give Beatrice her choice, and let her lead the way into what may come next. Her sheer anger and grief mixed with his steady calmness and attention tells a story of two people who know each other more than they might care to admit, which goes along exactly with the story Whedon has crafted for these two.

Ultimately, their physical reactions throughout this scene mirror their broader emotional journey back to each other. Beatrice repeatedly pulls away, Benedick follows, they briefly reconnect, she pushes him away again, and he finally gives her the choice to take his hand and lead them forward despite how complicated the path might be.

What Changes?

Whether told solely through Shakespeare's original script or adapted to a modern black-and-white film, Much Ado About Nothing has a deeply emotional story at its core. Whether it is put in the hands of theaters or filmmakers might change its delivery, but the heart of the story remains across adaptations. Though Whedon's film takes a more emotional and serious tone through setting, language, and action, the initial play by no means lacks emotions, and more comedic performances can introduce these same serious themes if only in lighter ways, and both can be enjoyable for different reasons.