Ophelia And Hamlet Comparison Essay

Characters are one of the most important pieces of a movie. They create the mood and tone of how the movie is going to play out. Through gestures, mannerisms, body language and delivery, characters set the tone of the movie. Directors play a significant role by how they may perceive the same character. The directors (Almereyda and Zeffirelli) establish two different tones by altering Hamlet and Ophelia’s personalities as they interact and speak to each other, creating a significant difference in the two versions of the film. The second half of Act III scene 1 is an argument between Hamlet and Ophelia. Polonius and Claudius plan on spying on Hamlet, using Ophelia. So, Ophelia pretends to read a book and as Hamlet walks into the room, then
I discovered that there are several ways to interpret the story behind Hamlet and Ophelia. In Almereyda’s version, Hamlet and Ophelia seem to be affectionate towards each other. Their body language shows that they both care for eachother, Hamlet continuously has his hands on Ophelia’s shoulders and gets very close to her. While Ophelia at first sits in a chair, staring blankly down at the empty table, but she soon gets closer to Hamlet. After conversation they end up kissing, which I found to be the most confusing part of this scene. This is because in Zeffirelli’s version of the film, Hamlet and Ophelia appear to have conflict between each other. While talking they yell at eachother, rather than have a normal conversation and Ophelia’s honesty is questioned by Hamlet. Between these two films, I question how Hamlet and Ophelia feel about each other because each film is perceived differently by the directors. Although both film versions taught me the two different types of bonds that Hamlet and Ophelia could have had in the play. It made me think more extensively about what Shakespeare would want as the