I saw this film as I love the play and I do like Franco Zeffirelli(especially for his opera films like La Traviata). While this 1990 film is far from terrible, it is the weakest for me of the three Hamlet films I've seen- I loved Branagh's and especially Olivier's- and possibly Zeffirelli's weakest Shakespeare adaptation also. It does have some undeniably good points, it is very well made with very evocative scenery, beautiful atmospheric lighting, sumptuous costuming and cinematography that is moody yet shimmering. The music is haunting and the sound effects really enhance the mood. The script is condensed, but still is very powerful and moving when needed. Ian Holm is a very effective Polonious, the character is creepier than one would expect but it proved to be an interesting touch. Mel Gibson was better than expected, initially it does scream disaster but actually he is charismatic and delivers his lines with meaning. He is perhaps too old for the role(but understandably as other reviewers have pointed out) and Branagh and Olivier conveyed Hamlet's tragedy more convincingly but coming from a non-fan of Gibson this is not a bad performance at all. The acting honours go to Glenn Close, whose Gertrude is beautifully elegant, expressive and sincere. On the other hand, while it is a long play with much complexity and so forth(therefore a slow unfolding pace is necessary) there are some scenes that do come about as too drawn-out and laborious. Zeffirelli I do like for his sumptuous style and how directs actors(and singers), but he does bring forth ideas that are interesting in hindsight but don't do very well in terms of the motivations of the characters, Orphelia and Claudius in particular really suffer from this, and like his Jane Eyre it does get pedestrian in places. Two performances don't work. Alan Bates did have potential to, he is a great actor and has done creepy and evil very well before in The Shout for example. But, not helped by the fact that the scenes make Claudius the character he is are severely reduced, consequently Bates is never evil enough. The worst offender though is Helena Bonham Carter, she has given very good performances(A Room with a View, Sweeney Tood and Howards End) before and like Bates seemed ideal for the role. The reasons why she wasn't is largely again to do with Zeffirelli, the idea to not have Orphelia poignant and meek and instead have her as the complete opposite, strong-willed and almost headstrong was a big mistake, undermining her lunacy scenes. Whereas they should be moving, this change to the character is partly why Bonham Carter's performance feels wildly overacted. On the whole, didn't really work from my perspective but it is not a bad film. 6/10 Bethany Cox
Review of Hamlet
