In the Bleak Midwinter (1995)

Director:

Kenneth Branagh

Writer:

Kenneth Branagh (written by)

Release Date:

16 February 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

The drama. The passion. The intrigue... And the rehearsals haven't even started.

Plot:

Out of work actor Joe volunteers to help try and save his sister's local church for the community by putting on a Christmas production of Hamlet...

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Actor | Play | Homosexual | William Shakespeare

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Richard Briers	...	Henry Wakefield (Claudius, the Ghost, and the Player King)
Hetta Charnley	...	Molly
Joan Collins	...	Margaretta D'Arcy
Nicholas Farrell	...	Tom Newman (Laertes, Fortinbras, and messengers)
Mark Hadfield	...	Vernon Spatch (Polonius, Marcellus, and First Gravedigger)
Gerard Horan	...	Carnforth Greville (Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Horatio, and Barnardo)
Celia Imrie	...	Fadge
Michael Maloney	...	Joe Harper (Hamlet)
Jennifer Saunders	...	Nancy Crawford
Julia Sawalha	...	Nina Raymond (Ophelia)
John Sessions	...	Terry Du Bois (Queen Gertrude)
Ann Davies	...	Mrs. Branch
James D. White	...	Tim
Robert Hines	...	Mortimer
Allie Byrne	...	Tap Dancer

Also Known As:

A Midwinter's Tale (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for some language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Germany:12 | New Zealand:M | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

Kenneth Branagh wrote the screenplay with Michael Maloney in mind for the lead.

Quotes:

Nina Raymond: And you have me.
Joe Harper: Really?
Nina Raymond: If you like.
Henry Wakefield: Get his name on the dotted line, love. He's a shifty git.

Movie Connections:

Featured in To Be on Camera: A History with Hamlet (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Heart of Glass

Hamlet as a comedy, what could be better?

I love this film. It is small, and quiet, and it is rather unexpectedly in black and white. It opens like a documentary, and then slips you right into the role of fly on the wall for the rest of the film.

The ensemble is terrific and keep an eye on the facial expressions of the actors who are not actually speaking. A lot of Branagh regulars make welcome appearances. The "look" is wonderfully textured and layered, taking advantage of b/w. Ironically, I prefer many of "Joe's" interpretations of Hamlet to the same scenes in the various film versions I've seen, including Branagh's epic version. Of course, the version they perform is designed for the stage, with a mostly live audience....

My favorite aspect of this film is that it turns a production of Hamlet into a "neo-pseudo-Shakespearean comedy." The parallels between the characters in Hamlet still exist in the players in A Midwinter's Tale. They've been updated and personalized so that Joe's comment that "the play is about loss" works equally well for the film. But, just as almost everyone is dead at the end of a Shakespearean tragedy, everyone is paired up at the end of MT. Of course, as a modern work it can't just end in weddings, but happy endings abound for everyone.

The cleverness of this all is that there is naughty, campy, frivolous humour which hides deep emotional pain, uncertainty, and even tragedy. Anyone who is familiar with Shakespeare's comedies will be familiar with that dark edge which contrasts the joyous romping. Then there are the requisite farcical elements to make the parallel complete.

The only unresolved issues I had at the end of the film/play were "how will Molly handle the fencing scene?" and "how is it possible for Henry to be both Claudius and the Player King?" But I'm not about to gripe about these little points when everything else is tied up so neatly and well.