Thomas Nienow

I had never read nor seen a production of Hamlet before watching this movie. I found it to be a grueling experience primarily because of Branaugh's performance. As others have noted, it is hard to understand him much of the time; Shakespeare is obviously a challenge for modern English speakers but his diction and timing are really unhelpful. I also disliked his characterization of Hamlet, as he came across as smug and ungenuine. Julie Christie was excellent, however, and never hit false note, and Kate Winslet was also compelling as Ophelia. Derek Jacobi was just okay; not much memorable about his performance. Oddly, of the many cameo appearances I thought Charlton Heston was a stand-out. The staging and sets are grand, but overall they distracted from the complex human drama that appears to be the real force that makes this tragedy so compelling. I can see why this version was omitted from the NY TImes list of the best movies ever made while the 1948 and 2000 versions, neither of which I have seen, were included.