HAMLET. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli; adapted from William Shakespeare by Christopher De Vore and Franco Zeffirelli; produced by Dyson Lovell for Warner Bros. Starring Mel Gibson and Glenn Close. Rated PG.
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Dr. Kildare was Hamlet once, so why not Mad Max?
There was a British production with Richard Chamberlain as the melancholy Dane many years ago and it wasn't half bad. Keeping this in mind, as well as fuzzily favorable memories of director Zeffirelli's previous Shakespearean films (Romeo and Juliet and Taming of the Shrew), I was hopeful of at least a tolerable presentation. As sometimes happens when one's expectations are so modest, I was happily surprised by this Hamlet.
Gibson, better known for roles active than contemplative, manages quite well, thank you, with both sides of Hamlet's complex personality. The play's magnificent language, though admittedly convoluted and old-fashioned, likewise gives him little trouble.
And this is an important point, since unintelligible Shakespeare is worse than no Shakespeare at all.
Welcome as Gibson's success with the part is, it's still fortunate that Hamlet sports a truly stellar supporting cast as well. Close (as mother Gertrude), Alan Bates (Uncle Claudius), Ian Holm (Polonius) and Helena Bonham-Carter (Ophelia) have the gold-plated "serious actor" credentials that Gibson perhaps lacks. And they come through in the fine professional form one expects of them.
Zeffirelli's Hamlet simplifies the themes and story rather than illuminating all of the nooks and crannies of its amazingly complex structure. But that's okay, at least in principle. The absolute, total and complete Hamlet is hardly ever done anyway. And Zeffireli has a proven track record for making Shakespeare popular with large numbers of people who would probably be put off by more "classical" treatments.
I do object somewhat, though, to his removal of a very major sub-plot (that of Fortinbras, king of neighboring Norway). While perhaps making the running time more manageable, this also robs the story of most of its political dimension. Most of his rearrangements and omissions work well, however, in the context of the whole movie. It falls short of a definitive edition of Hamlet, but it's a good introduction to the play.
February 6. 1991