Hamlet (2000)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Michael Almereyda

Writers (WGA):

William Shakespeare (play)
Michael Almereyda (screen adaptation)

Release Date:

12 July 2000 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

Modern day adaptation of Shakespeare's immortal story about Hamlet's plight to avenge his father's murder in New York City.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Corporation | Madness | Modern Day | Revenge

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Ethan Hawke	...	Hamlet
Kyle MacLachlan	...	Claudius
Diane Venora	...	Gertrude
Sam Shepard	...	Ghost
Bill Murray	...	Polonius
Liev Schreiber	...	Laertes
Julia Stiles	...	Ophelia
Karl Geary	...	Horatio
Paula Malcomson	...	Marcella
Steve Zahn	...	Rosencrantz
Dechen Thurman	...	Guildenstern
Rome Neal	...	Barnardo
Jeffrey Wright	...	Gravedigger
Paul Bartel	...	Osric
Casey Affleck	...	Fortinbras

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | USA:R | Austria:12 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

double A Films

Trivia:

Sam Shepard also played Ethan Hawke's father in Snow Falling on Cedars (1999).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In his soliloquy, Hamlet says "The undiscovered country to whose bourn /No traveler returns." Shakespeare wrote, "The undiscovered country *from* whose bourn /No traveler returns," i.e. no one comes back from the next life to tell us what it's like.

Quotes:

Ghost: I am thy father's spirit.

Movie Connections:

Features Deep Throat (1972)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 1: First Movement

Nice try, but not the words don't all come trippingly from all the actors' tongues.

Here is the first film version of Hamlet to come along in modern New York. The director's use of New York is fun to watch for this native New Yorker, although how a limo can quickly move from 42nd St. between Broadway and Eighth Avenue to 48th St. and Sixth Avenue is beyond me.

But asisde from that, all we care about when we see Hamlet is how is the text handled, by both the director and the cast. The director, Michael Almereyda, has cut into the script and most of the film runs surprising lean for something that runs one hour, fifty-three minutes. His use of short films in the background, speaker phones, TV's and the like run the gambit from ingeneous to "Give me a BREAK!"

The casting however is inconsitent, for which we can certainly blame the director. Ethan Hawke, in the title role, has drive and energy. But if anybody remembers the TV show "The Critic", when they had Keanu Reeves doing Hamlet, then you know what I'm thinking. The words "Dude" and "Whoa" seems ready to break into Hawke's speeches at anytime. The complexity is replaced by a whiny "I'm in pain, but I'm cool" attitude for the bulk of the film and it doesn't really work. The mumbling of at least a fourth of his lines doesn't help either. He works better in silence, brooding.

The silence works even better for Julia Styles as Ophelia. When quiet, the pain of abandonment and loss is heartfelt. Then she opens her mouth, and the lack of a developed character as well as an appalling lack of command of Shakespeare's words is obvious. Ophelia, never mind getting thee to a nunnery, get thee "Beverly Hills, 90210", GO!

Bill Murray veers form earnestness to his Lounge Singer's act from "SNL" when doing Polonius. I know the role was suppose to be for comic relief. But after a while, everything Murray says is funny- intenionally or otherwise.

Kyle McLaughlin, as Claudius, doesn't fare much better. There is little distinction in his line readings, and in the end, he just comes off as a one-trick pony. Diane Verona is marginally better as Gertrude. The attitude is there, as is the pain, but her line readings lack a freshness to them.

The standouts are Sam Sheppard as the Ghost, Steve Zahn and Dechen Thurman as Rosencrnatz & Guildenstern, and especially Liev Schrieber as Laertes. Schrieber in paricularly as the energy, clearity, and believabilty that makes you wonder what if he played Hamlet instead of Schrieber. We probably would have had a better movie.