Review of Hamlet (1990) by Nilanjana R — 17 Dec 2009

This movie was alright. Surprisingly, the only real complaints I have with it are with Shakespeare's script. Hamlet takes on too much for it to be really coherent. For example, Ophelia doesn't have enough time on screen for me to really feel anything for her, even though Helena Bonham Carter is a very nice fit for the role.

Same thing for Ian Holm; he was great, but I didn't really care for his character. For it to be really effective, Hamlet would have to be a miniseries or at least two parts. See Henry IV Part 1 and Part 2.

Overall, this film version did its job in telling the story, but any version always feels so rushed that the story lacks compassion.