It is highly unlikely that this bizarre opus will be on anyone's 'essential Chabrol' list but for this viewer at any rate it remains an inventive and darkly humorous take on Shakespeare's masterpiece.
Chabrol's tried and trusted team are again in evidence. Paul Gégauff supplies plenty of acid wit whilst Jean Rabier's cinematography is autumnal and Pierre Jansen's score suitably sombre.
There are two very effective set pieces, namely the funeral swiftly followed by the widow's wedding which is the visual equivalent of Hamlet's "The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish the marriage table" and most especially the scene where the silent film-within-the film replaces the play by which Hamlet hopes to ''catch the conscience of the King". This also affords Chabrol another opportunity to have a dig at the self-satisfied bourgeoisie he so despised.
There are some especially fine performances of depth and substance from Claude Cerval, Alida Valli and Chabrol discovery Juliette Mayniel. Most negative reviews have been reserved for André Jocelyn as a strange young man who develops a Hamlet complex after seeing Olivier's film in the local cinema. He is obliged of course to feign madness but this is somewhat ineffective as it is obvious from the outset that he is halfway there already! Having appeared in smaller parts for this director he has been given the chance to graduate to a leading role with the result that his career proceeded to sink without trace. His is a deeply disturbed and complex character but cinematic licence should ideally have allowed for a more sympathetic actor with a greater screen presence.
Of the handful of films that have transposed the themes of Hamlet to a contemporary setting, this may not be one of the best but it is most assuredly not one of the worst.
Chabrol's tried and trusted team are again in evidence. Paul Gégauff supplies plenty of acid wit whilst Jean Rabier's cinematography is autumnal and Pierre Jansen's score suitably sombre.
There are two very effective set pieces, namely the funeral swiftly followed by the widow's wedding which is the visual equivalent of Hamlet's "The funeral baked meats did coldly furnish the marriage table" and most especially the scene where the silent film-within-the film replaces the play by which Hamlet hopes to ''catch the conscience of the King". This also affords Chabrol another opportunity to have a dig at the self-satisfied bourgeoisie he so despised.
There are some especially fine performances of depth and substance from Claude Cerval, Alida Valli and Chabrol discovery Juliette Mayniel. Most negative reviews have been reserved for André Jocelyn as a strange young man who develops a Hamlet complex after seeing Olivier's film in the local cinema. He is obliged of course to feign madness but this is somewhat ineffective as it is obvious from the outset that he is halfway there already! Having appeared in smaller parts for this director he has been given the chance to graduate to a leading role with the result that his career proceeded to sink without trace. His is a deeply disturbed and complex character but cinematic licence should ideally have allowed for a more sympathetic actor with a greater screen presence.
Of the handful of films that have transposed the themes of Hamlet to a contemporary setting, this may not be one of the best but it is most assuredly not one of the worst.