Introduction
William Shakespeare is one of world history’s most famous dramatists and poets. He wrote many notable plays, including Hamlet. This literary work deserves to be considered a masterpiece that promotes literature development. Furthermore, the play inspired many artists, including Michael Almereyda, who created his cognominal film in 2000. Almereyda’s Hamlet is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s work, demonstrating that this play can be effectively interpreted within the modern setting.
Scene Interpretation
Selecting a specific scene to demonstrate how Shakespeare’s play was interpreted is reasonable. A suitable option is to focus on the confrontation between Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude, in her bedroom because it is a pivotal moment. In the original text, the scene occurs in Act III, Scene IV, where Hamlet accuses Gertrude of betraying his father’s memory because she married Hamlet’s uncle (Shakespeare, 1603).
In the film, the structure of the original scene is preserved, but new elements are included. First, the characters are surrounded by mirrors, highlighting appearance versus reality (Almereyda, 2000). This feature demonstrates that the characters present different versions of themselves to the world.
Furthermore, Almereyda relies on a shallow depth of field to emphasize actors’ faces, expressions, and gestures (Almereyda, 2000). Moreover, close shots focused on the actors’ body language to depict their emotions. These features were absent in the original play, denoting that they reveal the director’s interpretation.
General Film Interpretation
In addition to the scene, the entire film deserves attention because of its interpretation. The movie occurs in New York City and depicts a young man’s struggles following his father’s death (Almereyda, 2000). Thus, the themes of loss and grief are central to the film, similar to Shakespeare’s play. However, the use of technology is a significant departure from the original text. The director actively incorporated cameras, televisions, and other devices into the story to show the impact of technology on reality.
In addition to that, the film offers many additional interpretations of Shakespeare’s text. In the play, Denmark’s crown sits in Elsinore Castle, which is shown as Hotel Elsinore in the film. The “To be, or not to be” monologue is the most prominent part of the play, interpreted explicitly in the movie. In particular, Hamlet seems to be influenced by a video of a Buddhist teacher explaining that to be means to be with others.
In the original play, Ophelia carried real flowers, but Almereyda (2000) decided to reinterpret this fact and made the character carry Polaroid photographs of different flowers. Furthermore, the ghost of Hamlet’s killed father appeared on closed-circuit TV for the first time. These decisions manifest the director’s reliance on technology, which was highlighted above.
Conclusion
Almereyda’s film offers a unique and thought-provoking interpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. He brings the story to life in new and unexpected ways using technology and other modern devices. The selected scene centers on Hamlet’s anger and disillusionment with his mother’s actions and his desire for her to recognize the gravity of her sins. The use of mirrors and other cinematic techniques serves to enhance and deepen these themes rather than to replace or obscure them. Despite these departures from the original text, Almereyda’s film adaptation remains faithful to the scene’s essential themes and ideas.
References
Almereyda, M. (2000). Hamlet [Film]. Double A Films.
Shakespeare, W. (1603). The tragedy of Hamlet. Prince of Denmark. Web.