#Hamlet movie movie

IвЂ™d do anything to somehow experience a repeat of it. They went all-in on the acting and the words, and I tell you that it was one of the best Shakespeare performances IвЂ™ve seen in my life. That said, IвЂ™ll tell you a quick story.ДЄbout 20 years ago I saw a production of Macbeth in a New York City park that was defiant in its lack of scenery and props. The level of craft in this film is absolutely off the charts. There are iridescent blue dragonflies and white peacocks and so many intricately brocade gowns. A few unexpected touches: the ghost scene resembles a horror movie, Ophelia and Hamlet get it on, Polonius dallies with a prostitute, and the final duel turns into a bloody battle.

#Hamlet movie movie

You might want to screen this as a 2-parter, (the movie was originally shown with an intermission). It must be said though that the film looks exquisite, from the costumes and props to the cinematography and camerawork. Branaghs greatest film of Shakespeares greatest play. This leads to a, shall we say, altered version of the playвЂ™s final scenes that caused more than one snicker during the Sundance premiere. So Gertrude has a lost witch sister that makes potions (the influence is more The Dark Crystal than Macbeth), and one such brew can temporarily simulate death like in Romeo and Juliet. Lisa KleinвЂ™s novel (adapted by screenwriter Semi Chellas) decides it will be great fun to make substantive changes to the story. Sure, sheвЂ™s floating about the palace and witnessing things вЂ“ but there is zero emotional investment.

ItвЂ™s well over an hour before Polonius is killed, with Ophelia essentially offstage twiddling her thumbs. The other problem is that nearly every scene we see has almost no narrative drive. (I didnвЂ™t write down the precise line, by this point of the film I was clutching my head with both hands.) So when the narrative intersects with scenes from the play, lines like вЂњGet thee to a nunneryвЂќ are changed to something on the order of вЂњI told you to go to that nunneryвЂќ. They canвЂ™t speak the language of Shakespeare, so the dialogue is dumbed down to a generic Game of Thrones level. The first obvious hurdle this film faces is figuring out how these people talk. She and young Hamlet are already making eyes at one another, yet when he returns to Elsinore as a young man (played by George MacKay) their flirtation soon escalates. We cut to her childhood at court, a little scamp that Queen Gertrude (Naomi Watts) chooses to be one of her ladies-in-waiting. This project is madness with no method to it.Дaisy RidleyвЂ™s voiceover introduces us to Ophelia, floating in her watery grave, suggesting that only now will we hear вЂњthe real storyвЂќ. Shakespeare purists will revolt, high-fantasy fans will be bored and the kids who make gifs of Daisy Ridley and put them on Tumblr will wait until they can pirate this anyway. Mel Gibson gives a very fine performance as the tragic hero.This film looks absolutely gorgeous, but apart from its production design it is basically a disaster. That, to me, keeps the whole play from working. It made Hamlet seem as though he really was completely insane. But I donвЂ™t feel it should be taken so literally. Shakespeare hints at incestual activities in a lot of his plays, including between Tybalt and his aunt in Romeo & Juliet. I donвЂ™t feel that the original text calls for it to be so played out. I just donвЂ™t agree with Oedipus story line. I am not a big fan of Glenn Close, but she was wonderful as Queen Gertrude. He gives such a fine performance in the role. Ian Holm gives a very fine performance as Polonius. I read somewhere once that Gibson felt the same thing about the scene. That also makes Hamlet seem like a man who does not have a mind. He doesnвЂ™t even play it like he cares that he did it. I donвЂ™t like the way Gibson was directed to play the scene in which he kills Polonius. That is something else that greatly bothers me. I was pleasantly shocked at the performance, especially the scene where goes insane after finding out her father is dead. Carter is superb as Ophelia, much better than Kate Winslet, who was great in the Branagh version. The only thing that makes it work is the great acting performances of Mel Gibson and Helena-Bonham Carter. вЂ¦show more contentвЂ¦ I felt they through away the Hamlet/Ophelia scene and turned something beautiful into something boring. Omitting the subplot of Fortinbras took away the whole political aspect of the piece. The three things which bother me the most are the omission of Fortinbras and the handling of the, вЂњTo be or not to beвЂ¦вЂќ soliloquy and the вЂњGet thee to a nunneryвЂ¦вЂќ scene, and HamletвЂ™s Oedipus complex.

The omissions and transposing makes the play weaker, and while it is a great screenplay, it fails in comparison to ShakespeareвЂ™s original work. I feel that while it stands alone as a very well made movie and contains great acting performances throughout, I think that it strays too far from the original text and layout of the play. I am not a big fan of the 1990 movie version of William ShakespeareвЂ™s Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson.