Camila Umaña 11ª

MOVIE REVIEW – HAMLET

Hamlet, 1996, written, directed, and starred by Kenneth Branagh is a brilliant drama film
based on Shakespeare´s quintessential play by the same name. With an all-star cast
composed of major Hollywood names including Derek Jacobi as Claudius, Julie Christie as
Gertrude, Richard Briers as Polonius, and Kate Winslet as Ophelia. The film was massively
critically acclaimed, having received four Academy Award nominations for the 69th
Academy Awards. However, it was not nearly as successful in the box office, grossing just
under $5 million on a budget of $18 million. So, is it worth watching? In this review,
including an analysis of one of the scenes in the movie, I set out to convince you, reader, it
is.

The tragedy of Hamlet follows the events that take place after the death of King Hamlet
senior when his son, Hamlet, finds out that his uncle, stepfather, and new king, Claudius,
was the one that poisoned him. After revealing his cause of death, the ghost of his deceased
father commands Hamlet to avenge him by slaying his uncle. The plot centers on Hamlet's
quest for revenge, amid which many of Hamlet´s closest acquaintances meet a tragic fate.
Ophelia, Hamlet's lover, is no exception, as she is driven to madness by the grief of losing
her father (Polonius). Subsequently, I would like to examine the scene in which Ophelia´s
brother Laertes first meets her after the loss of their father and discovers her condition.

The scene opens with a frenzied Ophelia emerging from the dark and walking into the
throne room, where her brother is talking to king Polonius and queen Gertrude. Throughout
the development of the said scene, Ophelia goes into a bizarre discourse interspersed with
singing, at one point of which she gives out flowers with specific symbolic meanings to
each character present, including herself. The scene ends with Ophelia singing a final song,
giving out a blessing, and then standing up and walking away. 

The first point worth mentioning is the filmmaker’s decision not to give Ophelia real
flowers. In the original play, it is not specified whether the flowers are there even though it
is commonly assumed they are, however in this scene the act of giving out flowers is
approached from a much more symbolic angle. The absence of the flowers takes away from
the mysticism the scene could´ve had, had it given into the temptation of portraying a
beautifully distraught maiden carrying pretty flowers in her hands. Instead, the focus is on
Ophelia's intention itself, in her feelings and distress, and not the aestheticization of her
pain. 

The next aspect one must acknowledge is the usage of mirrors in the scene. During the
better part of the scene Ophelia places herself in front of a mirror. Laertes joins her beside
it. While the dialogue plays out, the camera switches between two different angles, the first
focuses on Ophelia while the second focuses on Laertes. When the camera focuses on
Ophelia her reflection shows no one behind her, only an empty hall. When the focus is on
Laertes, the shot captures the reflection of the King and Queen behind him. Visually and
implicitly, they are on his side. This visually symbolizes Ophelia's feelings of complete
isolation, she has no one standing behind her, everyone is looking at her in shock and fear,
but hardly any of them are willing to support her.

When it comes to dialogue, the scene follows Shakespeare's play faithfully. Every line
delivered by the actors can be read on the corresponding page of the play. Because of this,
every line uttered is extraordinarily well written and the movie is great for students who
wish to attain a better visual understanding of the play. Though, the intent of the creators of
the film is clear in the way they chose to approach Ophelia's songs. They chose to make
Ophelia´s first songs seem senseless, off-tune, and erratic while her last song sounds
mournful and full of intent, as she sinks into deep reflection, almost a type of
disassociation. This is a deliberate choice made by the director since the play can not
specify the tune of the song, only the lyrics, so the filmmakers had the task to decide on the
melody and delivery of the lines. This, they made a terrific job at, since the way they
managed the singing served to emphasize the girl´s mourning, rather than ridiculing her.

The element that arguably stands out the most in this scene is the zoom-in on Ophelia as
she sings her final song before walking away. The camera slowly gets closer to Ophelia as
she stares off into the distance and sings “and will he not come again?”. The way this is
shot switches the mood of the scene from confusing to grim and melancholic. There is
Ophelia, and only Ophelia, grieving in solitude for her late father. The usage of this zoom-
in added to the performance of Kate Winslet is undoubtedly highly impactful to viewers
and nothing short of moving. 

Overall, this scene does a fantastic job at portraying the events from the play faithfully
enough not to stray away from the original intent. Furthermore, it doesn't stay at that, it
adds to the original play by showing us a rarely seen dimension of the character Ophelia: a
young woman consumed by grief and tormented by isolation, not “crazy”, but suffering. 
The use of all the previously mentioned elements adds up to a strong scene, both
symbolically and visually. The focus on Ophelia's intent and emotion throughout the
different aspects of the scene build-up to a beautiful humanization of a character often
reduced to a lovely misfortune. The use of such strong visual language throughout the film
makes it watchable, even though it’s run time is remarkably long and its language old
fashioned. As great at it is, this scene is but a sample of the film, still, it serves to
demonstrate how Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet is a passionate and entertaining film that gives
the long-forgotten genre of revenge drama a new breath of life, with a high-quality faithful
adaptation of the classic play, making it undeniably worth checking out.
Bibliography
Hamlet. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, performances by Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi,
Julie Christie, and Kate Winslet, Sony Pictures Releasing (United States), 1996.
(Hamlet 2:46:46, 2:51:30)