HAMLET (1996)
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1996 Scott Renshaw
(Columbia/Castle Rock) Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Richard Briers, Nicholas Farrell, Michael Maloney. Screenplay: Kenneth Branagh, based on the play by William Shakespeare. Producer: David Barron. Director: Kenneth Branagh. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (violence, sexual situations) Running Time: 238 minutes, with a 20 minute intermission after 158 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
Kenneth Branagh's HAMLET is the first film version of Shakespeare's revered tragedy to use the full, uncut text, and you know what that means: before you settle into your theater seat, smoke 'em if you got 'em, be sure to use the restroom, and bring extra quarters for parking. This HAMLET is 238 minutes long -- 258 including the intermission -- making it one of the longest films ever produced for theatrical distribution. It is a terribly risky undertaking, but Branagh has proven once again that the Bard is safe in his hands. His HAMLET does a remarkable job of demonstrating exactly how much is lost in edited versions of the play, re-vitalizing characterizations and offering a visual spectacle. It is a worthy challenger to Laurence Olivier's 1948 HAMLET as the definitive film interpretation of the text.
The story's titular character is the son (Branagh) of the King of Denmark, but Hamlet was also the name of the recently deceased King himself. Young Hamlet is troubled by the marriage of his mother Gertrude (Julie Christie) to his uncle Claudius (Derek Jacobi), who has assumed the Danish throne, but he is even more troubled when he is visited by the ghost of his father (Brian Blessed). The ghost informs Hamlet that Claudius murdered the King, and sets him to the task of avenging the foul deed. Hamlet, however, is unsure how to proceed, and his frustration spills over onto everyone around him, including his beloved Ophelia (Kate Winslet). Meanwhile, Fortinbras of Norway (Rufus Sewell) begins a military campaign which may include a threat to Denmark.
That bare bones synopsis cannot even begin to do justice to the complexity of HAMLET, of course, but neither do many abbreviated film and stage versions. Branagh's use of the entire text proves to be far more than a purist conceit, as he reveals additional layers of meaning. Fortinbras' actions to answer the dishonor of his father, forced to surrender lands to the elder Hamlet, becomes a counterpoint to the young Hamlet's inability to answer a more grave dishonor; Ophelia's descent into madness is given a wrenching power as she dissolves in front of her already grief-stricken brother Laertes (Michael Maloney). There is also surprising humor, particularly in the banter of the two gravediggers (Simon Russell Beale and Billy Crystal), which leavens the melancholy in the story of the melancholy Dane. This HAMLET is richer than any other you might have known because every piece of sub-text remains in the text.
It is also a version which uses the unique opportunities of cinema better than any other. Branagh has an instinct for excess in his film direction, but his dedication to Shakespeare has anchored his adaptations of HENRY V and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING where MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN and DEAD AGAIN occasionally got away from him. In HAMLET, Branagh employs flashback cutaways to show a sexual relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia which makes her subsequent reactions more understandable; resonant sound turns the ghost's apparition into a terrifying ordeal for Hamlet; snowy landscapes give Elsinore (Oxfordshire's Blenheim Palace) a chilly desolation. Combining creative interpretive choices for the characters (Polonius [Richard Briers] becomes more malevolent and hypocritical as he is shown with a prostitute before sending someone to check up on Laertes in France) with superb technical credits (Tim Harvey's dazzling production design and Alex Byrne's elegant, evocative 19th century costumes), Branagh adds another thoroughly cinematic Shakespeare to his resume.
His direction may be nearly unimpeachable, but there are other areas where Branagh's "more is more" philosophy are a hindrance. The casting of several familiar faces in minor roles feels more like a stunt than an artistic choice, and while Crystal and Charlton Heston (as the player king) in particular are surprisingly effective in their roles, the effect is more often to turn HAMLET into a Hollywood sight-seeing tour: "Look, there's Gerard Depardieu! Look, there's Robin Williams!" Branagh's lead performance is also distracting, and not because he makes poor character choices (unless his bleached-blond hair counts); the problem is that he is playing to the balcony even though he is on a movie screen. There may be one too many scenes in which spittle flies from the thin lips of his impassioned Hamlet, and while Branagh has a firm grasp of the Dane's lighter side, his emoting is often forced. Still, it is hard to come down too hard on a man who not only committed himself to the most challenging role in the history of theater, but directed an epic period production of the most challenging play in the history of theater. Branagh took an exceptional gamble, and it paid off in an exceptional film. Take a chance on spending 238 minutes to stretch your understanding of this remarkable play; you can always stretch your legs during the intermission.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 great Danes: 8.
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