Hamlet 2009 review
Hamlet (2009)
The BBC television version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet was satisfactory. Though the director clearly wasn’t working with a big budget, he managed to use his resources to their full extent. One of my favorite features was the crew. David Tennant, who is a brilliant actor, plays a bouncy mad man. His level of energy was a fitting match for the role of Hamlet. The only problem was seeing him as anything but the Doctor from Doctor Who. Many times it was as if he was still playing the role of the Doctor instead of Hamlet. Patrick Stewart, another well-known actor, was quite suitable for his role as well. He was a little creepy in how happy he looked, and then he broke. The mother and the queen (played by Penny Downie) was very good too in the way that she broke down further and further throughout the play. Furthermore the actor of Ophelia (Mariah Gale) matched David Tennant’s level of craziness, if not exceeding it. The crew was enjoyable and talented, and their acting was compelling.
In general, this movie was quite entertaining and memorable. The director did a decent job of not cutting out or changing the original version of the play. The director set the play in a more recent period, and costumed the characters in suits and ties. At one point Hamlet goes so far as to wearing a bright orange ‘abs’ shirt (a shirt with fake abs drawn onto the front), which made it quite funny to consider while he recites the serious and famous speech –“To be or not to be”. The camera work was not fantastic, as it was not very professional, and music, which I think is an important part of film, was often absent.
All in all, I would give this movie a 7.5/10.
The BBC television version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet was satisfactory. Though the director clearly wasn’t working with a big budget, he managed to use his resources to their full extent. One of my favorite features was the crew. David Tennant, who is a brilliant actor, plays a bouncy mad man. His level of energy was a fitting match for the role of Hamlet. The only problem was seeing him as anything but the Doctor from Doctor Who. Many times it was as if he was still playing the role of the Doctor instead of Hamlet. Patrick Stewart, another well-known actor, was quite suitable for his role as well. He was a little creepy in how happy he looked, and then he broke. The mother and the queen (played by Penny Downie) was very good too in the way that she broke down further and further throughout the play. Furthermore the actor of Ophelia (Mariah Gale) matched David Tennant’s level of craziness, if not exceeding it. The crew was enjoyable and talented, and their acting was compelling.
In general, this movie was quite entertaining and memorable. The director did a decent job of not cutting out or changing the original version of the play. The director set the play in a more recent period, and costumed the characters in suits and ties. At one point Hamlet goes so far as to wearing a bright orange ‘abs’ shirt (a shirt with fake abs drawn onto the front), which made it quite funny to consider while he recites the serious and famous speech –“To be or not to be”. The camera work was not fantastic, as it was not very professional, and music, which I think is an important part of film, was often absent.
All in all, I would give this movie a 7.5/10.