Review of Hamlet (2009) by Preston L — 03 Sep 2015

This version of Hamlet is a filmed version of the 2008 cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company production. It stars David Tennant as Hamlet and Sir Patrick Stewart as both Claudius and the ghost of King Hamlet. The plot, for those of you who at this point have somehow missed it is this. Hamlet's father Hamlet, King of Denmark, is found dead. Hamlet returns from school in Wittenberg for Hamlet's funeral and discovers that Hamlet's Wife has remarried Hamlet's brother Claudius making him Hamlet's step-father. Hamlet then sees the ghost of Hamlet who tells Hamlet that Hamlet was murdered by Claudius. Hamlet seeks to avenge Hamlet's death by murdering dear old uncle-dad. Did you follow all that?

Things I Liked:

David Tennant. Now this is a Hamlet I can get behind! Tennant soars as Hamlet playing a quirky and interesting dynamic between Hamlet's "madness" and his more lucid moments, the speeches and soliloquies are thoughtful yet not overdone and he really stands out without trying to be a leading man in a film. David Tennant is spectacular in this version and I can only imagine what seeing him live must have been like.

Patrick Stewart. Sir Patrick Stewart is a legend and he reminds us of why here. His portrayal of both Claudius and Hamlet's Ghost are distinct and interesting and each have their own power. They take control of scenes and they harness a lot of moments that really soar sometimes even above Tennant's performance. The work Stewart does is a magnificent array of emotion and expressions, some subtle some broad and all interesting.

The Tone. While it has it's darker and it's more depressing moments, this Hamlet plays a lot with the humorous moments. Polonius is a great source of comic relief and Tennant's madness is not overdone and is a bit clownish which really helps to keep you interested as opposed to many grim and troublesome variations of Hamlet. I was so delighted that this one allowed humor in and quite a bit. It made the movie much more enjoyable.

Things I Didn't Like:

Ophelia. Mariah Gale as Ophelia fell a little short in this one. She wasn't very memorable or interesting and fell by the wayside and when she finally has her tragic fall into madness, it isn't something that grabs at your heartstrings because you find you do not care about her the way you should.

The setting. The way the film is set up feels like too many different places. It feels like the world is disjointed from itself and never appears cohesive. It has a very stylistic approach which makes sense with it being adapted from a play. But overall there are moments that seen a little out of place and it can be distracting at times.

Overall. Overall this version is my favorite so far. Tennant and Stewart carry a film that I feel captured the tone of the play very well and the script's cuts make it feel as though nothing is missing. There are issues with the star power overshadowing the other characters, most notably Ophelia and the setting seems odd and sometimes distracting. But the story is the true star and the actors bring it out in a wonderful way.