Hamlet

Premise: A prince returns to his family's kingdom to avenge his father's death. In this version, Hamlet (Ethan Hawke) is a disillusioned university student, and Denmark is a corporation. If, for some reason you are unfamiliar with the rest, Hamlet's father, Hamlet Sr. (Sam Shepard), tells Hamlet Jr. that his brother, Claudius (Kyle MacLachlan) killed him to steal his queen, Gertrude (Diane Venora), and his throne. Also, Hamlet Jr. was having a secret affair with Ophelia (Julia Stiles), who is the daughter of Polonius (Bill Murray), the court advisor, and the sister of his friend, Laertes (Liev Schriber).

Okay, that's close enough to what happens. It's one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies, so I bet you can guess what happens in the end. Also, I bet when you saw Hamlet in bold there, you wondering which version I would write about. Guess what?! I am going to tell you about the latest and shortest version I have ever seen on film. Excitement!

So, if you are looking for a version that is literal visual representation of Shakespeare, this isn't it. If that is the case, get the Kenneth Branagh version. In fact, Branagh seems to believe himself to be the crowned prince of Shakespeare, so you can trust him to deliver whatever Shakespeare would have wanted.

Enough about Branagh. This version was directed by Michael Almereyda, who seeks to do visually what Shakespeare often did with his plays. Shakespeare, although a dirty old man highly concerned with sex and death (aren't we all?), focused very heavily on imagery and metaphor to bring meaning to his plays. Almereyda often uses the visual image to suggest much of what is cut out of the script: Shakespeare's Hamlet is four hours long; Almereyda's Hamlet is under two. You will find that conversations, monologues, and soliloquies are cut up or voiced over images not mentioned in the script. He also uses the modern time/space setting (2000, New York City) to suggest meaning beyond what Shakespeare had written. My personal favourite: the "to be or not to be" soliloquy in a Blockbuster. You figure it out.

Another thing I love about this film is that many of the actors have portrayed Hamlet at one time or another (e.g. Sam Shepard, Kyle MacLachan, Diane Venora). Although the iambic pantametre is abandonned in favour of making the speeches sound more realistic, none of these actors allow nuance to slip through their fingers. Venora and Murray especially bring rich drama to their roles.

Now, as you may know, if it's Shakespeare, then there must be a hundred or more theories swirling about each and every syllable, from Hamlet's inaction to his love for Ophelia, from Gertrude's foreknowledge of the murder to the passionate scene when Hamlet confronts her. I believe that Almereyda suggests that the answer to these questions is summed in his chosen profession: Hamlet appears to be some sort of amateur, indie filmmaker.

I was thinking that I don't want to give it away, but, c'mon, who doesn't already know the story? Okay, here's what I get from Almereyda: Hamlet overthinks the whole thing and really does love Ophelia; Gertrude probably did know but couldn't deal, and there is no incest. The film/play is concerned with the relationships between parents and children (specifically fathers and sons), but it's a different kind of love than what many are thinking of.

Overall, this is an art film of a heavy subject. You may not be ready for it.