Word: hamlets
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...uninitiated, Hamlet, perhaps William Shakespeare's best-known tragedy, contains enough murder, lust, spying and intrigue to become the most frequently adapted play in all of cinema. Here, Old Hamlet (Sam Shepard) has died and his brother Claudius (Kyle MacLachlan) has assumed the reins of power in more ways than one. Along with taking over his company, Claudius has married Old Hamlet's wife, Gertrude (Diane Venora), which understandably angers her son, Hamlet (Ethan Hawke). Torn between concerns for his mother and spurred by a visit from his father's ghost, our protagonist seeks to uncover the truth...
...Almereyda's own admission, the film was shot "fast and cheap" on 16mm film, and it shows. This version is certainly a "poor man's" Hamlet that neither remains truthful to the original text, nor emerges as a stunningly relevant interpretation that redefines the tale for our time. Under the circumstances, the text can't be faulted, but what the production team does in interpretation and execution makes for largely uninvolving storytelling...
...title role, even for the most skilled thespian, is a terribly difficult one. This version is proof of what occurs when a less capable actor attempts the task. While the choice to turn Hamlet into a filmmaker nicely modernizes his dramatic obsession, Hawke simply isn't talented or mature enough to tackle such a weighty work. Where Hamlet should be plaintive and forthright, he seems surly and bratty, and where the part calls for tortuous introspection, Hawke settles into a lifeless, gravelly monotone. For the most part, Hawke doesn't seem to know the implications of what he's saying...
...fact, this theme of minor elements succeeding while major aspects fail becomes the model for Hamlet. In one characteristic self-berating monologue, Hawke scrutinizes James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, asking, "What would he do?"-something which nicely crystallizes Hamlet's vacillation. Hamlet screaming at Gertrude to "Leave wringing of your hands" as she dives for a telephone, and placing a recording wire on Ophelia so Polonius can eavesdrop on her conversation with Hamlet are all commendable directorial choices, but the work becomes spoiled with major misinterpretation. As the play was origianlly written, Hamlet chooses not to kill Claudius...
...consequence, the work remains one of confusion punctuated with moments of humor-the latter derived mainly from product placement. The ghost of Old Hamlet disappears into a "Pepsi One" sign, and the infamous brooding and melancholic speech "To be or not to be" is delivered in a Blockbuster video store in the "Action" section, next to the sign "Go Home Happy." Whether intentionally comic or not, they detract from the play's tension, sucking out any emotional involvement that might otherwise have existed...