The influence of director Kenneth Branagh on the comic book adaptation Thor, released in 2011, is most easily detected simply by watching any other movie taking place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. No other movie in that Hollywood franchise looks or feels quite like Thor. Classically-trained Shakespearean actor/director Branagh infuses the film with a seriousness that stretches from the visual sumptuousness to the tone of the movie and everything in between. Thor immediately stands out from the entire MCU oeuvre precisely because it is a “director’s film” rather than a “producer’s movie” or even a “franchise entry.”
The very idea of the man who brought the entire unabridged text of Shakespeare’s Hamlet to the screen for the first directing a comic book movie seemed entirely out of step from the first. The release of all those Avengers movies that look and feel exactly the same has only served to intensify the idiosyncrasy of the telling of Thor’s origin story into the framework of the MCU. This is primarily due to the script situating the story as character-driven and to Branagh’s direction which makes those characters feel Shakespearean.
Thor is a superhero film, of course, but it is not the special effects that carry the movie. It is the acting and the narrative that turns it into a mythic story of sibling rivalry and political machinations. Branagh guided the performance of Tom Hiddleston as Loki by comparing the character to one of Shakespeare’s greatest creations, Edmund in King Lear. Both Loki and Edmund are second brothers with biological defects standing in the way of their ambitions to usurp the dominant position of older brothers viewed as less intellectually fit for their respective positions as heir. Loki grows up not even knowing that he was adopted, much less that his biological roots are related to the worst enemy of the people of Asgard. One need not be familiar with Edmund’s story to sense that something Shakespearean is going on. Loki is generally recognized as being the movie’s villain, but like Edmund he is capable of drawing sympathy from the audience because his villainous actions are easily understood. Like Edmund’s older brother, Thor for much of the story does seem entirely unworthy of his standing to receive his father’s inheritance. Branagh may have had this subplot of King Lear in mind when making the film, but he does not depend upon familiarity with the connection to serve his purpose.
Ultimately, the greatness of Thor is the decision to not make it a cartoonish showdown between an obviously good hero and an obviously evil villain. Branagh is not just a director, but a highly respected actor. And the directorial influence most brilliantly on display in the film is his ability guide performance. No other entry in the entire MCU canon even comes close to Thor in terms of the quality of acting across the board. But it is especially the performances of Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston as Loki that raise the film to the level of art. There is one particular moment in the film that says everything about how much Branagh contributed to raising the level of the film through direction. It is a moment that passes by so quickly it is easy to underestimate.
The moment happens when Loki first comes to earth to visit Thor and lies to him about his chances of ever being able to return to Asgard. It is a scene that plays out on two different emotional levels: Loki’s true feelings and the fake emotions he is feeding Thor in order to get him to believe him. As the conversation comes to an end, Loki turns and leaves and is framed so that the audience sees Loki’s face but Thor does not. In the hands of not just a lesser director, but the overwhelming majority of directors, Hiddleston would have been encouraged to use this moment of victory to reveal Loki’s true villainy with a facial expression. Instead, Loki leaves this integral moment in the story with Loki’s moral ambiguity still intact. It is impossible to determine whether he is feeling pride at having bested his brother or regret at having lost his brother. Most likely because he is feeling both simultaneously. That is the sort of cinematic moment that adds texture to the tone of a film that only comes with insightful direction.
