Spoiler Warning!
No, not the fact that almost all the characters die at the end. The spoiler is this: Claudius, played by Patrick Stewart, when threatened with the poisoned rapier by Hamlet to drink the poisoned wine, shrugs. Yes, shrugs! As in, “Might as well.” It’s a moment that I ran back two or three times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. And you know what? I loved it! Yes, I laughed. And although it was pretty jarring in such a tragic scene, I loved it. Why? Because that one little shrug said everything. “Well, Hamlet is pretty much dead, my wife is dead, and I’ve been exposed as a murderer, so…” One would expect a long dramatic pause coupled with “forgive me” eyes that would take up a few minutes of screen time. Oh no. Stewart said, “Let’s just cut to the chase.” Shrug. Drink. Done.
And you want to know how much the shrug captivated me? I mentioned that first and not the fact that David Tennant played Hamlet. Or the fact that Tennant wears jeans, no shoes and a red, t-shirt with a six-packed torso printed on it. Or the fact that he’s quite good. And in jeans.
This Hamlet is not quite the filmed stage version that I expected, although the same Royal Shakespeare Company director and cast return to reprise their roles. Instead, they use real locations as well as footage from surveillance cameras at times to coincide with the modern take. But that doesn’t mean the performances are taken down to minute, eye-twitch film levels. There’s still passion a-poppin’! Weeping, clutching, yelling, jumping in graves, crazy talk. All that tragic Shakespearey goodness.
Just want to take a moment to give a shout out to Horatio. I love that character and could go on and on about how Horatio and Hamlet are the true love story. No, I’m not suggesting that Horatio and Hamlet were lovers. I just believe that their friendship and trust was the through line of the play and the only one unbroken. Blah, blah, blah, nothing new, I’ll stop. Just give Horatio the props he deserves.
What did I learn from this Hamlet? *shrugs*
