I saw this movie recently, right after I'd read the play for the first time. At a certain point, I was desperate to turn off the VCR, but my English teacher (and the rest of the class) probably would have objected.
It's not that the movie is bad, per se. It's just that the play is so much better. Stoppard managed to make R&G into characters that you couldn't help but love. You know the ending by the time you've opened up the book (I mean, it says it right there in the title). But you still kind of hold out hope through the whole thing that he's going to save them, that he's going to let them escape because we never really see them die in "Hamlet". It's a brilliant play.
The most heartbreaking thing about the movie was that Stoppard didn't seem to trust his own words. Sure, it was still funny - if you cut out all the silliness, you'd end up with a 15 minute play. But he took out a few things - winks at the audience, where he throws in a very 20th century bit of busywork - which made the play a lot of fun. He rearranged passages, so that their context changed. He put them in situations where they didn't belong - they were no longer in the dark about the whole situation. Sure, it leads to some funny moments and good bits of physical comedy. But it also seemed to be an attempt to give Hamlet a motive, and that changed the canon itself. And worst of all, he changed their deaths. It was so beautifully written in the play - understated, but moving. In the movie, he turns the deaths of R&G into one last gag, after a montage that I'm assuming is supposed to be moving. It wasn't. And the music choices were just odd.
I really wanted to like the movie. I was thrilled to find out there was a movie version. And maybe I wouldn't have hated it so much had I not read the play. I really respect Tom Stoppard as a writer - he's one of my favorites at the moment. And maybe that's why this movie upset me so much - because it seems that somewhere along the line, he lost faith in his own words. The play was amazing. Read it. If it's being performed near you, go see it.
But if you've read the play, skip the movie. It's just not worth it.
(Mr. Stoppard, if you're reading this, I sincerely apologize. But it's true.)
It's not that the movie is bad, per se. It's just that the play is so much better. Stoppard managed to make R&G into characters that you couldn't help but love. You know the ending by the time you've opened up the book (I mean, it says it right there in the title). But you still kind of hold out hope through the whole thing that he's going to save them, that he's going to let them escape because we never really see them die in "Hamlet". It's a brilliant play.
The most heartbreaking thing about the movie was that Stoppard didn't seem to trust his own words. Sure, it was still funny - if you cut out all the silliness, you'd end up with a 15 minute play. But he took out a few things - winks at the audience, where he throws in a very 20th century bit of busywork - which made the play a lot of fun. He rearranged passages, so that their context changed. He put them in situations where they didn't belong - they were no longer in the dark about the whole situation. Sure, it leads to some funny moments and good bits of physical comedy. But it also seemed to be an attempt to give Hamlet a motive, and that changed the canon itself. And worst of all, he changed their deaths. It was so beautifully written in the play - understated, but moving. In the movie, he turns the deaths of R&G into one last gag, after a montage that I'm assuming is supposed to be moving. It wasn't. And the music choices were just odd.
I really wanted to like the movie. I was thrilled to find out there was a movie version. And maybe I wouldn't have hated it so much had I not read the play. I really respect Tom Stoppard as a writer - he's one of my favorites at the moment. And maybe that's why this movie upset me so much - because it seems that somewhere along the line, he lost faith in his own words. The play was amazing. Read it. If it's being performed near you, go see it.
But if you've read the play, skip the movie. It's just not worth it.
(Mr. Stoppard, if you're reading this, I sincerely apologize. But it's true.)
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