Let's face it, 'Hamlet' is not an easy work for the average person to understand and if one has never seen it performed before, he or she needs help even if they've read the play. ![]() In his portrayal of Hamlet here he might be accused of that again, but there is a method at work. Branagh has always been one of the most interesting actor/writer/directors, if not always the best, since he made his big splash with 'Henry V.' One quibble I had with him was what I saw as a tendency to ham it up at times. But everything Branagh tries to do seems to work. Since so much of 'Hamlet' is based on interior monologue and there are relatively few duels, battles, etc., this can be a daunting task. The direction accomplishes the heavy task of making this a movie rather than a deluxe version of a play. Branagh's casting once again is inspired and the acting is likewise. The production design and cinematography and both outstanding, which helps immensely when you're watching a four-hour movie. The setting is a generic 19th century European one and this does more than work well, it keeps a modern or ancient look from possibly distracting from the work itself. In return he asks viewers to put in a little work themselves, a fair enough proposition and one that's a bargain. ![]() What an ambitious project Kenneth Branagh undertook here and how well it was realized! This is the first filmed version of 'Hamlet' to use the full text of Shakespeare's play, but Branagh didn't do it just because "it was there." His intention, I believe, was to make the play accessible and understandable to the general viewer without dumbing it down, so to speak.
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