Almereyda Hamlet Comparison Essay

Since the year of 1900, there has been nearly fifty film adaptations of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, from the most recent, Almereyda’s modernized adaptation of Hamlet to Olivier’s 1948 black-and-white film. The directors of each of these films make appropriate changes to target their audience, considering the audiences’ and society’s interests, while at the same time, ensuring that they stay true to the basic plot and structure of the play. They do this by changing the costumes, order of scenes, and setting, among a number of other things. Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet was developed in the year of 2000 for a contemporary audience, much different than that of Shakespeare’s. Almereyda targets the modern, contemporary audience by changing the roles
of the characters and setting from that of the original play, through the way in which mental illness is portrayed, and finally, through the integration of technology in the film.

First of all, Almereyda’s setting is atypical for a Shakespeare film.
Instead of the setting taking place in Denmark, as it does in the original play, the film takes place in New York City. Elsinore Castle is replaced by “Hotel Elsinore.” Having the setting take place in New York City is a brilliant idea, as New York City is more recognizable and relatable when compared to the original setting of Denmark to the modern, North American audience. Not only is New York City closer to home for North Americans than Denmark is, but many movies take place in New York City. New York City has been referred to as “the place to live the dream” and therefore represents Hamlet’s family’s wealth, as do the methods of transportation of Hamlet, Gertrude and Claudius, which are only feasible with this modern day film. For example, Hamlet, his mother and Claudius are shuffled around in full-length black limousines. To the contemporary audience, limousines as a method of regular transportation is a symbolism of wealth and extravagance, that only incredibly wealthy people can afford. Replacing Elsinore Castle with “Hotel Elsinore” also targets the modern audience, as hotels are generally thought of as places of luxury because of the amenities and services that they provide. Additionally, the setting having taken place in New York City allows the modern audience to obtain a clearer sense of the class differences between the two lovers: Hamlet and Ophelia. In the 2000 film, Hamlet stops by
Ophelia’s apartment. It is old, rusty, dingy, and cramped. When compared to Hamlet’s bright and open-concept residence, the class difference between the two characters is clearer to the modern audience, as we can differentiate between poorness and wealth by their type of residence. New York City is also very business-oriented, as there are plenty of corporation head offices. This ties into the change of the characters’ roles. Not only does Almereyda twist the setting in the 2000 Hamlet film, but he also twists the roles of the characters. In this film, Claudius becomes the CEO of “Denmark Corporation,” having taking over the firm by murdering Hamlet’s father. Almereyda’s decision to manipulate the character’s roles to engage the audience is outstanding. While Claudius no longer is a King, as he is in the original text, performances and films, he still is in a position of power. In fact, in today’s society, those that hold the most power and control often are those who own large businesses or corporations. Like the role of a King, Claudius’s choices can affect others and the operation of his “business” because he is nonetheless, still in a position that requires immense leadership qualities. Almereyda does an excellent job at changing
Claudius’s role, while still ensuring that the role ties in perfectly with the setting and qualities and responsibilities similar to that of the role of a King.

The way in which Almereyda portrays mental illness in this film also targets the modern audience, as society’s views regarding the topic of mental illness is much different than that of the Elizabethan times. This film portrays mental illness as more normalized, and through the suffering of thoughts, rather than through actions. For example, when Polonius and Ophelia go to Claudius and Gertrude to declare that Hamlet is mad due to his intense feelings of love for Ophelia in the swimming pool area, Ophelia daydreams about drowning herself. Thinking about suicide is obviously a sign or symptom of abnormality, however, it is not revealed to the other characters because it is merely thoughts. Also, when Polonius goes to talk with Hamlet, Hamlet speaks clearly. His speech is not jumbled, as it is in the BBC version. The original text and earlier versions of the film Hamlet, portray those suffering from mental illness as possessed and dangerous (Britain in Print). The actors in less modernized films expressed mental illness as externalized, while Almereyda’s film expressed the suffering as internalized. Many of the people in the Elizabethan times thought that those who were suffering from mental illness were possessed by Satan (Britain in Print). In today’s current day and age, mental illness is viewed as an illness that affects the brain, and there is much less stigma attached to mental illness due to awareness. The way in which actors: Ethan Hawke, who plays Hamlet and Julia Stiles, who plays Ophelia in this film, show the illness in a way that reflects that of the modern times, and therefore targets this generation’s views regarding this topic.

Lastly, Almereyda’s integration of technology in this modernized film gives the audience a way to relate, as even in the year of 2000, technology was very much present through television, video cameras and DVDs, among other forms of technology.
Almereyda integrates technology through the presence of portable DVD players, films, DVDs, fax and answering machines, telephones, security cameras, recorders and even secret microphones throughout the film. He also uses technology to communicate messages. Specifically, Almereyda uses technology to show how it displaces memory, through Hamlet watching home videos of his loving parents and zooming and rewinding it, and also by having Ophelia toss Polaroids, saying that rosemary is for remembrance. Almereyda integrates various forms of technology into the plot of nearly every scene in the film. For example, a fax, not Osric, informs Hamlet that Laertes has challenged him to a duel, and Hamlet’s “The Mouse Trap” takes the form of a film rather than a performance, as it does in the text and other film versions. This presence of technology shows how relevant and widely used technology is in our day to day lives and it engages the
audience.

In conclusion, Michael Almereyda did a fantastic job of adapting and targeting the contemporary audience. By altering the setting and roles of the characters from that of the original play, through the way in which mental illness is portrayed, and through the craftily integration of technology in the film, Almereyda nonetheless, targets the audience, while keeping the true beauty of Shakespeare’s play by using a similar, yet shorter script.