Hamlet (1990)

Directed by Franco Zeffirelli. Starring Mel Gibson, Glenn Close, Alan Bates, Helena Bonham Carter, Ian Holm, Nathaniel Parker, Stephen Dillane, Paul Scofield, Trevor Peacock, John McEnery, Pete Postlethwaite, Christopher Fairbank. [PG]

Durable treatment of Shakespeare’s most widely-acclaimed play almost never feels stagy—the Mousetrap play within the play is simply a play—and is accessible to modern audiences, although the text has been abridged and rearranged to such a degree, the uninitiated may find some parts confusing—thoughts and themes more than actions and events, often lacking nuance. Enriched by fine production values and the ruddy, misty atmosphere of its Scottish castle locations, and put over by a cast without a single glaring flaw, although Close handles Gertrude with uncertainty, as if afraid of the fragility of the role as conceived and the borderline incestuous subtext of her relationship with her brooding son. Said son doesn’t merely brood, however, and it was to the astonishment of naysayers that Mel Gibson attacks the material instead of getting overwhelmed by it, offering a more earnest and energetic interpretation than the melancholy Dane is typically afforded. Bates, Holm, and Bonham Carter all rate vivid portrayals as well, playing Claudius, Polonius, and Ophelia respectively. First film produced by Icon Productions, co-founded by Gibson in order to fund this motion picture after no other studios showed interest.

71/100