Release Date:
05/12/2000
There have been more Hamlets on film and TV than James Bonds and Dr. Whos combined, so it’s difficult to approach a new version without carrying the ego-heavy baggage of Derek, Mel, Kenneth, and especially Sir Laurence. So when introduced to Ethan Hawke’s hip New York version of the Prince of Denmark, our expectations were kept low for fear of a disaster unmatched since Keanu Reeves stepped in Much Ado About Nothing. Luckily this latest production, despite a few missteps, won’t have the Bard howling in his grave.
Armed with a script by the hottest Hollywood screenwriter since Robert Towne, Hawke and company inhabit a modern world filled with people who speak in flowery Elizabethan couplets. The Kingdom of Denmark is now the Denmark Corporation, Elsinore Castle is now the Elsinore Hotel, and boisterous Heralds have been replaced by Fax machines and cell phones. But, not all of the updates jell as well as they should. Hamlet delivers the famous “To Be or Not to Be” speech while strolling down the aisle of a Blockbuster video (with The Crow 2: City of Angels playing in the background—nice), which is supposed to suggest a corporate hell from which this indie filmmaker wants to free himself. On the other hand, just a few scenes earlier, the semi-transparent ghost of Hamlet’s father (Sam Shepard) was practically pushed off the screen by an enormous Pepsi One vending machine. Hmmm…irony? Or just shameless product placement? You make the call. On the plus side, the famous “play-within-a-play” that Hamlet stages to trap Claudius is updated nicely as a “film-within-a-film.”
The performances are solid across the board, even though Hawke is sometimes, not surprisingly, more bratty than brooding. Kyle McLachlan is an appropriately slimy Claudius, Liev Schreiber is a strong Laertes, and Julia Stiles is moving as the doomed Ophelia. But the biggest surprise is Bill Murray absolutely nailing the character of Polonius. Not only is Murray the only actor of the lot who speaks his lines rather than reciting them, he fits the character to a T. While by no means the definitive Hamlet, this one still deserves a see. A sad note to high school students: A huge chunk of the play gets trimmed, so you’ll still need the Cliffs Notes.
Armed with a script by the hottest Hollywood screenwriter since Robert Towne, Hawke and company inhabit a modern world filled with people who speak in flowery Elizabethan couplets. The Kingdom of Denmark is now the Denmark Corporation, Elsinore Castle is now the Elsinore Hotel, and boisterous Heralds have been replaced by Fax machines and cell phones. But, not all of the updates jell as well as they should. Hamlet delivers the famous “To Be or Not to Be” speech while strolling down the aisle of a Blockbuster video (with The Crow 2: City of Angels playing in the background—nice), which is supposed to suggest a corporate hell from which this indie filmmaker wants to free himself. On the other hand, just a few scenes earlier, the semi-transparent ghost of Hamlet’s father (Sam Shepard) was practically pushed off the screen by an enormous Pepsi One vending machine. Hmmm…irony? Or just shameless product placement? You make the call. On the plus side, the famous “play-within-a-play” that Hamlet stages to trap Claudius is updated nicely as a “film-within-a-film.”
The performances are solid across the board, even though Hawke is sometimes, not surprisingly, more bratty than brooding. Kyle McLachlan is an appropriately slimy Claudius, Liev Schreiber is a strong Laertes, and Julia Stiles is moving as the doomed Ophelia. But the biggest surprise is Bill Murray absolutely nailing the character of Polonius. Not only is Murray the only actor of the lot who speaks his lines rather than reciting them, he fits the character to a T. While by no means the definitive Hamlet, this one still deserves a see. A sad note to high school students: A huge chunk of the play gets trimmed, so you’ll still need the Cliffs Notes.