If it be not now, yet it will come, the Riz Ahmed is almost all.
William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” can transition into one play or movie version after another. Sometimes, it’s with its own time period, and other times, it can be modernized with the Shakespearean language. We’ve had the story adjusted to the 19th century in Kennth Branagh’s vision. And we’ve had modern day versions of the tale and spoken in the Shakespearean language, like the 2000 version with Ethan Hawke or even a Bollywood version called “Haider.” This new version, titled “Hamlet,” is given a British-Indian spin with Riz Ahmed as the title character.
You know the story about how Hamlet’s father was murdered by his uncle Claudius, who also married his mother Gertrude and took the throne. And you know how his father’s ghost told him who the true culprit was, and how he vowed revenge against his uncle. We know the story, and we celebrate the tragedy. I even came close to recommending this one, because of how good Ahmed is at bringing the tragic hero in his own light, but I had to go against it, because it doesn’t really take must risks within the story and it ends up feeling conventional.
In this version, we see him in the background of his mother’s (Sheeba Chaddha) wedding, and later making a scene with his love Ophelia (Morfydd Clark) as if he was a drunken man finding out his wife will divorce him (“We will have no more marriage,” he exclaims). He drives away with tears shouting: “To be or not to be! That is the question!,” and he takes his hands off the wheels as part of his death wish, and nearly gets hit by an ongoing truck. And then, he comes back to the wedding to put on a Hindu show
When he accidentally kills the conniving Polonius (Timothy Spall), Claudius (Art Malik) sends Hamlet away-partly to the tune of him walking through a party to the tune of Cheryl Lynn’s “Got to Be Real” and partly like gangsters escorting him to in a secluded area beat him up. And in this version, he ends up temporarily seeking sanctuary in a homeless camp. I suppose because “Hamlet” was written at the turn of the 17th century, and even in our time period, no cops are involved to arrest him. Especially since he leaves a building covered in Polonius’ blood. But because the movie wants to follow the traditional methods, we have the final confrontation between the tragic hero and villain, as well as Polonius’ son and Ophelia’s brother Laertes (Joe Alwyn). Thus showing us the deterioration of family and friends.
The better movie to party celebrate the tragedy in current release on home media is “Hamnet,” which closed brilliantly with the stage production of “Hamlet.” We all know that Hamlet was named after Shakespeare’s dead son Hamnet, and that both names were considered to be interchangeable at the time. It may not have been completely about the play, but it showed some vibrant performances and an ambiance that director Chloe Zhao has specialized.
This version, directed by Aneil Karia (“Surge”) and written by Michael Lesslie (“Now You See Me: Now You Don’t”), has a riveting look with the Hindu temples, wedding, and nighttime sequences, and it has great acting work from Ahmed (who also produced this) and Malik. But it doesn’t have the ability to really draw us into this reality. It needs to do more than have the characters speak in the Shakespearean language and look so melancholy. It has to fully commit itself to the tragedy in order to completely show us a new version of it.
Rules are meant to be broken when it comes to Shakespeare’s stories, and we know the stakes of them and what they lead to. This “Hamlet” wants to be bold in the notion and it looks great doing so, but it needs some more vibrance. Especially with a fine actor like Ahmed taking on a character like this.
No “To be or not to be puns” from me in this review. Not even a Simba pun.