Year: 1990
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Country: U.S
Language: English
There are many great screen adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays, such as The Lion King, Macbeth and My Own Private Idaho. My next three reviews will regard film adaptations of the tragedy known as Hamlet. The first will be Kenneth Branagh's 1996 version, the second will consist of Mel Gibson's 1990 version and finally the third will be Sir Laurence Olivier's 1948 version. I first saw Gibson's version with my father when I was about ten year's old, my first impression was that it was quite long and boring, though to be fair I was probably too young to stay interested. I recently watched it again and shall write about my second impression more than a decade later.
Hamlet is about the son of the king of Denmark, who is named Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh) He is summoned home for his father's funeral and his mother's wedding to his uncle. In a supernatural occurrence, he discovers that his uncle, whom he doesn't like that much anyways, murdered his father. He must plot and then unplot against the uncle, while directing a play within a play in order to exact revenge.
Gibson's Hamlet is much more modern than Olivier's and Branagh's version. Modern in its appeal to audiences today, rather than aesthetic style & look. Gibson plays the title role and plays it differently than expected. He is not a melancholy Dane who is tossed around by fate and ruled by his uncertain emotions, rather he is a physical and almost joyful man. He is a man that could have had a very long life had everything not crumbled around him. This Hamlet does his best to get through the storm until it absolutely overwhelms him. This seems to make a more relatable Hamlet, one who is easier to connect with and one you actually hope will survive.
That being said Gibson's Hamlet was dangerously close to becoming an action film. The acting was a tad bit macho for the character, but it wasn't overdone. The pace felt a little too fast and the mood may not have been solemn enough for this incredibly tragic tale. Glenn Close and Helena Bonham-Carter are not as good as they could be, sure Bonham-Carter can believably go mad as Ophelia but she doesn't give much depth to her character and we don't feel for her as much as we should. However Gibson's Hamlet is wonderfully made from a technical point of view.
In conclusion, while Gibson's Hamlet is incredibly well made from a technical stance it does lack the existentialist dread feel that perhaps the play is best known for. Other than Mel Gibson, the acting is rather sub-par and thus there is a lack of depth to most of the characters. It is a decent film but in no way comparable to Branagh or Oliver's incredible versions. 3/5
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