The Adventures of Pericles brings a Stratford production to the screen

It's estimated only half this awkward, episodic play was actually written by Shakespeare, but Stratford's smart production turns a sow's ear into a silk purse. Director Scott Wentworth has an intriguing concept for unifying the piece and is blessed with a strong ensemble costumed in elegant 19th-century garb, and lead by a sympathetic Evan Buliung playing the globe-trotting Prince of Tyre. A winning performance from Deborah Hay, cast as both the Prince's wife and his long-lost daughter, ties together the action, which ranges from Jacobean tragedy to Elizabethan bawdry before the late-romantic Shakespeare asserts himself with various resurrections and reunions that actually prove quite moving. In this film version, directed by Barry Avrich, the close-ups bolster the actors' fine work, although some theatrical devices, such as a model ship paraded around to mark sea voyages, don't translate well. – Kate Taylor

The Adventures of Pericles screens at participating Cineplex theatres May 7 and 12.