MOVIE · 2004

The Merchant of Venice

DramaRomance138 min

In Venice, 1596, Bassanio asks his friend Antonio for the money he needs to pursue the wealthy Portia, but Antonio’s fortune is tied up elsewhere, so they turn to Shylock for a loan. Jeremy Irons is Antonio, a merchant whose credit stands in for cash, while Al Pacino’s Shylock agrees to the deal with a bond that demands a pound of flesh if it is not repaid. Joseph Fiennes is Bassanio, the young nobleman hoping to win Portia, with Lynn Collins as the heiress at the center of his suit, as Shakespeare’s story threads courtship, commerce, and grievance through Renaissance Venice.