Hamlet (2000 film)
{{short description|2000 film by Michael Almereyda}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
|name = Hamlet
|image = Hamlet-Poster.jpg
|caption = Theatrical release poster
|director = Michael Almereyda
|producer = Andrew Fierberg
Amy Hobby
|screenplay = Michael Almereyda
|based_on = {{Based on|Hamlet|William Shakespeare}}
|starring = {{plainlist|
- Ethan Hawke
- Kyle MacLachlan
- Diane Venora
- Liev Schreiber
- Julia Stiles
- Bill Murray
- Karl Geary
- Steve Zahn
- Sam Shepard}}
|music = Carter Burwell
|cinematography = John de Borman
|editing = Kristina Boden
|studio = double A Films
|distributor = Miramax Films
|released = {{Film date|2000|1|24|Sundance|2000|5|12|United States}}
|runtime = 112 minutes
|country = United States
|language = English
|gross = $2 million{{cite web|title=Hamlet (2000) - Box Office Mojo|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=hamlet2000.htm|work=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=March 12, 2021}}
}}
Hamlet, also known as Hamlet 2000, is a 2000 American drama film written and directed by Michael Almereyda, set in contemporary New York City, and based on the Shakespeare play of the same name. Ethan Hawke plays Hamlet as a film student, Kyle MacLachlan co-stars as Uncle Claudius, with Diane Venora as Gertrude, Liev Schreiber as Laertes, Julia Stiles as Ophelia, Steve Zahn as Rosencrantz, Bill Murray as Polonius, and Sam Shepard as Hamlet's father.
In this version of Hamlet, Claudius is the CEO or "king" of the Denmark Corporation, having taken over the firm by killing his brother, Hamlet's father.
This adaptation keeps the Shakespearean dialogue but presents a modern setting, with technology such as video cameras, Polaroid cameras, and surveillance bugs. For example, the ghost of Hamlet's murdered father first appears on closed-circuit TV.
Adaptations
- Elsinore Castle, the seat of power of Denmark's crown in the play, is re-imagined as Hotel Elsinore, the headquarters of Denmark Corporation.
- Prior to delivering the "To be, or not to be" monologue, Hamlet is seen watching a video of famed Buddhist teacher Thích Nhất Hạnh explaining the principle "To be is to be with others; to be is to inter-be" a basic teaching of Hanh's "Order of Interbeing".
- The "Mousetrap" play takes the form of a video art montage, edited by Hamlet himself.
- Instead of a Tapestry, Polonius hides in Gertrude's closet, then Hamlet shoots him through the door.
- The character of Marcellus, one of the soldiers, is re-imagined as Marcella, Horatio's girlfriend.
- The Captain in Fortinbras' army is replaced by a flight attendant on Hamlet's flight to England.
- Instead of carrying around actual flowers, Ophelia carries polaroid photographs of various flowers. In the film, Ophelia is an amateur photographer.
- Fortinbras' conquests are not military but corporate takeovers with the aid of his "armies" of lawyers.
- As opposed to drowning in a brook, Ophelia is found to have drowned in a fountain in front of the Hotel Elsinore, surrounded by mementos of her relationship with Hamlet.
- The Ghost of King Hamlet appears in Horatio's apartment, sitting in his bedroom as Marcella sleeps before Hamlet and Horatio enter it.
- The first intervention of Osric is re-imagined as a fax machine in Hamlet and Horatio's apartment, delivering Laertes' message right before the duel. However, Osric does appear during the duel between Hamlet and Laertes.
- Though Hamlet and Laertes still fence, Laertes does not kill Hamlet with a poisoned rapier (or here, foil). Instead, he shoots Hamlet with a pistol, then is shot himself. Hamlet then uses the same pistol to shoot and kill Claudius.
Cast
{{div col}}
- Ethan Hawke as Hamlet
- Kyle MacLachlan as Claudius
- Diane Venora as Gertrude
- Sam Shepard as Ghost
- Liev Schreiber as Laertes
- Julia Stiles as Ophelia
- Bill Murray as Polonius
- Karl Geary as Horatio
- Paula Malcomson as Marcella
- Steve Zahn as Rosencrantz
- Dechen Thurman as Guildenstern
- Rome Neal as Barnardo
- Jeffrey Wright as Gravedigger
- Paul Bartel as Osric
- Casey Affleck as Fortinbras
- Robert Thurman as Priest
- Tim Blake Nelson as Flight captain
- Larry Fessenden as Kissing Man
{{div col end}}
Reception
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|59|5.8|97|consensus=Stiff performances fail to produce any tension onscreen.|ref=yes|access-date=December 8, 2022}} Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 70/100, based on 32 reviews from mainstream critics.{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/hamlet-2000|title=Hamlet Reviews|work=Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|accessdate=March 12, 2021}}
Film critic Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times lauded it as a "vital and sharply intelligent film,"{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/library/film/051200hamlet-film-review.html|title='Hamlet': A Simpler Melancholy in a Different Denmark|work=The New York Times|last=Mitchell|first=Elvis|date=May 12, 2000|accessdate=March 12, 2021}} while The Washington Post reviewer deemed it as a "darkly interesting distraction but not much more."{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/entertainment/movies/reviews/hamlethowe.htm|title='Hamlet': A Melancholy Dude|accessdate=March 12, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|last=Howe|first=Desson|date=May 19, 2000}} The reaction to Hawke's performance as the title role is also mixed. The Los Angeles Times described him as a "superb Prince of Denmark - youthful, sensitive, passionate but with a mature grasp of the workings of human nature."{{cite news|url=http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie000511-93,0,770144.story|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826115451/http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-movie000511-93,0,770144.story|archivedate=August 26, 2007|title=Hamlet - Movie Review|last=Thomas|first=Kevin|accessdate=February 13, 2011|work=Los Angeles Times|url-status=dead}} New York magazine, however, thought Hawke's performance was only "middling."{{cite news|url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/movies/reviews/3173/|title=Get Thee to Moomba|last=Rainer|first=Peter|date=May 22, 2000|accessdate=March 12, 2021|work=New York}}
In March 2025, The New York Times listed Hamlet as among "The Movies We've Loved Since 2000."{{Cite web |date=March 17, 2025 |title=The Movies We've Loved Since 2000 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/movies/best-movies-since-2000.html |access-date=April 10, 2025 |website=The New York Times }}
See also
- Romeo + Juliet - another contemporary-set Shakespearean film adaptation, which also features Diane Venora.
- 10 Things I Hate About You and O - contemporary adaptations of The Taming of the Shrew and Othello, respectively, both also featuring Julia Stiles.
- Scotland, PA - a contemporary adaptation of Macbeth
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0171359}}
- {{cite magazine|url=https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/hamlet-11-1200460158/|last=Harvey|first=Dennis|title=Hamlet|magazine=Variety|date=January 30, 2000}}
{{Hamlet}}
{{Michael Almereyda}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamlet (2000 Film)}}
Category:2000s English-language films
Category:Films set in New York City
Category:Films based on Hamlet
Category:Films directed by Michael Almereyda
Category:Modern adaptations of works by William Shakespeare
Category:Films scored by Carter Burwell
Category:Fiction about fratricide