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rachelcarl-24118
Reviews
Macbeth (2015)
Marvelous, If You Don't Mind Subtitles...
As many other reviews will tell you, much of this movie's dialogue is mumbling or whispering, but I think this adaption's greatest flaw is that it takes itself far too seriously. It seemed to cut any scene that took away from the gritty darkness of the script, but a good tragedy doesn't need to omit funny moments to remain tragic.
Michael Fassbender makes a wonderful Macbeth, beautifully showing a refreshingly raw and vulnerable side to him after he becomes king that we rarely see depicted. It really reminds us of who he once was and how much he has changed. This, in addition to a magnificent set, perfectly selected costume design, and good acting all around, makes Macbeth overall worth the watch.
(I would recommend reading the original text first, but I understand that Shakespeare is not everyone's cup of tea.)
Hamlet (1990)
Helena Bonham Carter Is This Movie's One Redeeming Quality
Hamlet is a beautiful play. In fact, its widely thought of as Shakespeare's best works. Why someone would want to butcher it like this is completely beyond me. This adaption cuts beautiful and often crucial lines to focus on certain aspects of Hamlet's character, but completely misses the mark.
My first and possibly biggest issue with this play is how completely unlikable Mel Gibson's Hamlet is. One of the most fascinating things about Hamlet is that he is a mystery, an enigma of a character. He is also a prime example of a beautifully flawed protagonist. Mel Gibson plays him as a moody, misogynistic, and lustful man-child with no regard for others. His struggle with whether or not to murder his uncle is almost completely diminished in favor of giving us more of Hamlet's "madness" while bringing close to nothing new or revolutionary to his character.
Another of this adaption's fatal flaws is its near complete erasure of Horatio, Hamlet's loyal friend and moral compass. More of his lines are cut than anyone else's and his friendship with the moody prince is massively downplayed. In doing this, I believe this movie didn't reach its full potential of just how tragic the story is. We also lose a great deal of Hamlet's sense of turmoil when we underestimate how integral Horatio is to the story. He often acts as Hamlet's conscience and his only confident.
Pair all this with a forgettable Claudius, mediocre Gertrude and frankly disturbing and incest-y scene between Hamlet and his mother and you get Hamlet (1990).
I will readily admit to absolutely adoring how Helena Bonham Carter played Ophelia. This, in my opinion, is what made this movie worth watching. She seemed far less like "that girl in love with Hamlet" and far more like Ophelia than any adaption I've seen.
Over all, though, this adaption of Hamlet's fatal flaw is really the fact that it is *too* Hamlet-centric. I know, it sounds crazy, but hear me out. This interpretation of Hamlet was so focused on telling us about Hamlet, that it left all other characters flat and uninteresting. Instead of asking what motivates a character or why they would say something based on who they were, this adaption seems to focus far more on how this effects Hamlet or what other characters can do to make Hamlet look a certain way. This does every character a great disservice.