Michael Almareyda's Hamlet
When Hamlet screams to Ophelia, "Get thee to a nunnery!" it is played as a series of messages on her answering machine, the camera lingering on her face. This is something which could not be done on stage, since the camera holds Julia Stiles' face in a tight close up as the messages horribly unfold in the background.
In another key scene with Ophelia, she wears a wire to get information from Hamlet as Claudius and Polonius listen on the radio several buildings away. A more traditional director would not dare such stunts, but because Almareyda is committed to telling a story taking place in the present day, and more than that, a filmic story, it allows for such bold choices.
Many of the unlikely cast members do fine work indeed. As Americans, they are not versed in the sing song of iambic pentameter, the words falling off their lips like music. They speak Shakespeare's powerful language with naturalistic inflections, pauses and emotion, never going for theatrical effects.
I would even go so far to say that this film has continued what Peter Brook and Polish critic Jan Kott were pursuing in the '60s and '70s, the need to make Shakespeare our contemporary, which involves more than putting actors in modern dress.
Bill Murray shines as a sad eyed, smirky Polonious - overly paternal with his daughter and achingly disconnected from his son. Julia Stiles makes for a snappy Ophelia who is hip, willful and sassy, using those emotions to mask her hurt and gradual descent into madness (the tracking shot where Laeretes guides her through the hallway as she tosses photographs of the flowers back and forth as Claudius slowly follows, head bowed, is not shot in slow motion, but the actors themselves move with a dreamy slowness - pure Almareyda, and very powerful.)
Sam Shepard cuts a strong profile as the ghost of Hamlet's father, and one is reminded that the star of the film, Ethan Hawke, appeared in his play Buried Child. Their unspoken familial bond shines through in their one scene together.
The standout in the cast is undoubtedly Kyle MacLachlan as the deceptive uncle, Claudius, who poisoned his brother and wood his wife. He looks great in his crisp black and blue suits, moving confidently through the story as the master of Denmark (now a computer internet software corporation.)
In his notable career, MacLachlan's bland faced charm has been
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