Evan D. As a project this year we are taking a trip through time to revisit all of the Best Picture winners in history, Wings to Anora. Hamlet is the twentyfirst film in that series, to see all the other Best Picture reviews, click here. In the four centuries that have passed between our time and William Shakespeare’s, media and entertainment of all modes have been littered with adaptations of his works. Theaters and parks, screens and radios have all echoed with the immortal words of the Bard. Some adaptations have been true to the original word, with actors faithfully delivering their lines in perfect iambic pentameter. Others you might not even clock as originating in the 1600s. Films like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, She’s All That and Anyone But You all take themes from classic Shakespeare plays and repackage them for modern audiences. Modern, classic or some combination of the two, each owes their existence, in some small part, to Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet.
Olivier, who got his start channeling Shakespeare on the stage, directs the first adaptation the Bard’s longest and most mercurial play. For those unfamiliar with the play, Hamlet follows the titular prince of Denmark a few months after the untimely death of his father. In the aftermath, Hamlet’s uncle usurps the throne, marries the queen — Hamlet’s mother — and swiftly moves on from his brother’s death. In the depths of his sorrows, Hamlet is visited by what seems to be the ghost of his father, who reveals that he was murdered by none other than the new King of Denmark. Distraught, Hamlet devises a plan to learn the truth. He will feign madness, observing the reactions of his mother and her brother turned husband, searching for any evidence of guilt among them. The timeless point of brilliance of Shakespeare’s play, which comes through in Olivier’s Oscar winning effort, is the deep and pervasive uncertainty of Hamlet and the way it penetrates the broader story he inhabits. It is not entirely clear if the titular prince is mad or faking so. Is the ghost truly Hamlet’s father or is he a manifestation of his insecurities? Hamlet’s indecisiveness is not always readily apparent in Olivier’s interpretation but that uncertainty exists in the way he makes viewers question intentions of key characters. Hamlet is a mostly faithful adaptation of the Bard, but Olivier’s directorial vision adds a great deal to it from stage to screen. Having played Hamlet in theater as well as led blockbuster pictures, the director recognized the core of the character and understood how he could elevate the story with Hollywood magic. Set design is immaculate, costumes and cinematography as well. Even more than the basics he turns every tool of cinema to dramatizing Hamlet. When the phantasmic king appears the camera flits in and out of focus and an audible heartbeat punctuates the scene. Every step of the way his directorial decisions build up the turmoil of his titular character’s world. Olivier’s Hamlet is not perfect by any means. I care very little about what was cut from the original play to make the runtime of the adaptation palatable. Still Olivier’s hubris in playing the titular character shows. He capably performs the lines — not an easy feat — but at age forty is clearly too old to play the college age protagonist. His mother is played by an actress 12 years his junior! Astonishingly Olivier won Best Actor for this performance that certainly drags on the film. Still, Hamlet captures the spirit of the play it adapts and proves the timelessness of Shakespeare’s writing. Olivier’s reverence for the source material shines through and his effort proved the relevance to modern audiences. A capable winner of Best Picture. 8/10
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