Hamlet is one of the last films to be shot on 70mm film. Branagh films his epic as an epic, and fills the big screen with as much visual spectacular as possible. He has always been a visual director and his Hamlet is no different, perhaps being one of the best examples of that ever. Seeing this on the big screen was one of the biggest treats of my cinemaphile life. But it remains just as beautiful on a home screen as well. From the opening moments of the initial appearance of his father's ghosts and then the iconic grand palace true opening of the film in the middle of one of the most gorgeous sets ever films, Hamlet says to its audience that it is going to show us something remarkable. It is a feast for the eyes with some of the most beautiful art direction and costumes of any film, ever.
And one of the pieces of brilliance of this film adaptation is how he, in the midst of all that grandeur, sets many of the most important interactions and plot moments so intimate. He has characters embrace and whisper to each other. For example Polonias' advice scene is set as a remarkably intimate interaction between him and his children, and when he then turns on Ophelia in the next scene, that betrayal is so much more stark. Branagh oscillates between the large great scenes and some truly intricate personal moments. Then there is the way he creates a palpable energy in other scenes by rushing through lines with kinetic speeds. Yes he has a lot to fit into the run time so this helps, but it also creates urgency and energy. The the scene Hamlet confers with his father's ghost, they rush their lines together to make us feel the desperation of the moment. There is a scene of him running through the castle being chased which is edge of your seat exciting. The shifts in tone between the large, the soft, and the frantic are handled so naturally.
But as with any adaptation, the cast makes the movie. I believe, like Branagh does, that Derek Jacobi is one of the most amazing actors to ever live, has a particular talent for the Bard's work, and he once again confirms that here. His Claudius is a complicated advisory, not wholly villain, not overly sympathetic. His delicate handling of the character is a tour de force and one of my favourite singular performances ever. And similarly Richard Briers is a revelation here. The film posits his Polonius not as the bumbling fool he is often staged as, but as a truly evil schemer pulling all the levers.
Julie Christie is a complex Gertrude. She is drawn as a woman doing the best to manage all going on around her, balancing her own needs with the needs of her family and her nation. She isn't complicit, nor is she ignorant. She is vigilant in what she needs to do. And a young Kate Winslet does the always under served Ophelia true honour. I find this character one of the most challenging in the Bard's oeuvre. Winslet's decent into madness is truly tragic, and not in a way to serve Hamlet's journey, as it is also presented a bit powerful. Her madness is as viscous as any death on screen.
But then there is Branagh himself giving what in my opinion is the best Hamlet screen performance I have ever seen. The way he introduces us to the Dane, his dress distancing him from the court, as well as his mood. We see him in the shadows until he dramatically steps into the light. He is energized through meeting his father's ghost and by makes a fun fully entertaining ride of playing madness for this uncle's court. But by the time he gets to his soliloquy, brilliantly and beautifully set in a hall of mirrors, he holds us in his hands and we are enraptured.
Branagh, along with Jacobi and Briers, find a way of speaking the lines without making them sound like rhyming iambic pentameter, but as the way someone would speak. Branagh's Hamlet speaks as naturally as anyone. Rarely to film actors pull this off without sounding like they are reading lines.
One of the joys of seeing the entire play enacted is seeing those little moments which are most often cut, such as the fall of Troy in the speech by the player, here played by Heston which is actually visualized with Gielgud and Dench acting out the story as Heston, with his powerful voice, narrates the story. Or the inclusion of Reynaldo for a scene which shows a different side of Polonius. There are a multitude of moments like this which we often skip over and here we get to see how it all comes together in a way that brings out the power of the entire story.
Alright I will finish gushing now. I could go on about this film for hours. I enjoy watching it each time and each time I get more and more out of it. I can't recommend this film enough
Hamlet
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, Kate Winslet, Michael Maloney, Richard Briers, Nicholas Farrell, Robin Williams, Gerard Depardieu, Jack Lemmon, Judi Dench, John, Gielgud, Billy Crystal, Rufus Sewel, Charlton Heston, Richard Attenborough, Timothy Spall, Brian Blessed, Rosemary Harris
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writer: William Shakespeare
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