Hamlet

"Good night sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."

Hamlet is a modern Shakespeare play adaptation that I found to be both visually stunning, but also a compelling and engaging film. Complete with a stellar cast, this is a rare film that shouldn't me missed.

I can't call myself a huge fan of some other films based on one of Shakespeare's plays, but Hamlet has proved as an exception. Director Michael Almereyda has done as Baz Luhrmann did for Romeo + Juliet, in that he has created a very contemporary vision for Hamlet, being set in the modern era. In this case, the film is set in New York City, in 2000. This version stays true to the original play and manages to fit everything effectively within less than two hours (the original play taking four hours to conclude). As expected, it centres around the character Hamlet, now played by Ethan Hawke. The plot could be considered complicated at times and hard to understand, but if you give this film the attention it needs then you will certainly appreciate it's story.

The plot revolves around the experiences and emotions coming from Hamlet, and we get an insight into exactly what is happening at the time. It tells the tragic story of murder, compassion and betrayal, and is put together beautifully with strong acting performances, a stylish score and an enthralling take on Shakespeare's work. The score in particular perfectly matched the events at the time and showed contrast between different emotions and characters. The music reflected the tragic events and seemed even grim at times, with the actor's help, to maintain the intriguing scenes.

Ethan Hawke still remains the youngest actor to have played Hamlet on film, and I think he did it exceptionally. He showed every emotion and seemed to put so much passion into the character; it's hard to imagine anyone to have played Hamlet better for this film. He certainly showed more of the character's darker side, which I found even more interesting to watch. Kyle MacLachlan as Claudius was more of a diverse choice, and yet he still managed to pull off the role very well. Julia Stiles' role was smaller than I would have imagined, but even for her very few scenes she gave a pretty decent performance. There were some other recognisable performances from versatile actors such as Bill Murray, but nothing of an incredibly high standard.
Probably the only flaw of this film was the consistency of the acting standard. At times it is strong, powerful and very connecting... but for some other scenes it had a standard below mediocre.

Indie director Michael Almereyda has created a brilliant film that should be appreciated and treasured by all who see it. Unfortunately, I can't say that this film is for everyone, but those who don't mind its dialogue and the story by Shakespeare should find it to be an emotional and innovative film. I recommend this to anyone interested, for me it was definitely worth try.

7/10