In film adaptation, the director’s choice of lighting, camera angles, time period, costumes and set design wield the key to conveying and executing the desired faithfulness to the original text. In the 1996 production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, lead actor and director, Kenneth Branagh, reenacts the play in a grandiose, flamboyant manner, creating a visually dazzling rendition of Shakespeare's work. Situated in a hybrid setting of what appears to be a wintry 1600’s Russia with Victorian wardrobe, Kenneth Branagh remains true to Shakespeare’s text and chronology, producing an epic four hour long film. Furthermore, Branagh adds to the play’s major themes of being stuck in intervals of time, liminality, and suicide with the rendition of character interpretations and set composition. A lot of new insight can be gained on a piece of literature from how a director elects to visually depict it on screen. Banargh craftily shows the audience Hamlet’s unstable, manic display of emotions and portrays Polonius’s tight grip and control over Ophelia as well as Claudius’s on Gertrude. Both Polonius portrayed by Richard Briers and King Claudius portrayed by Derek Jacobi are very affectionate, perhaps falsely and manipulatively so, towards the women in their lives. And in the film we are able to see, for example, how King Claudius caresses Queen Gertrude’s cheek with his hand and speaks softly to her when he wants her to leave so that he and Polonius can spy on Hamlet, her son. This exchange echoes a theme of Hamlet’s earlier words, “Frailty, thy name is woman” in Act I, Scene II, in reference to his mother. Polonius also coddles and embraces Ophelia, rocking her back and forth like a baby, after Hamlet’s violent outbreak.
Kate Winslet brilliantly executes a nymph-like rendition of Ophelia, dressed in rosy pink and white with floral patterns on her skirt, she convincingly emulates purity and innocence. Branagh's choice of Ophelia's very feminine and delicate attire while reading the bible also functions to enforce Hamlet's argument that women tempt men by painting themselves into something other than what God makes them. In addition, Kenneth Branagh’s use of the two-way mirrors, with King Claudius and Polonius observing from behind one, works beautifully for Hamlets “To be, or not to be” speech. Hamlet speaks to his reflection but appears to knowingly be staring past himself and directly at the men, which is both a tad menacing and adrenaline pinching because it is not fully conveyed to the audience whether or not Hamlet is aware of his spies. Furthermore, Hamlet’s speech is a contemplation of suicide and it is significant that Branagh chose to give the speech with a knife in his hand while pointing it directly at his reflection and simultaneously at King Claudius and Polonius, because it foreshadows all their deaths and adds to Hamlets manic disposition. Branagh's visually vibrant film magnifies Shakespeare’s grand work without overshadowing his text. Branagh adds visual value to the play with startling camera angles, beautiful wintry landscapes, and emotional-wrenching music and action while remaining faithful to the plot. The actors also elegantly portray the characters and win over the audience with their authenticity and proficient execution of Shakespearean language. The play’s themes of time at a halt, Liminality, lunacy and suicide are beautifully embellished through symbolism and visual components in an unforgettably detailed, majestic style.
Kate Winslet brilliantly executes a nymph-like rendition of Ophelia, dressed in rosy pink and white with floral patterns on her skirt, she convincingly emulates purity and innocence. Branagh's choice of Ophelia's very feminine and delicate attire while reading the bible also functions to enforce Hamlet's argument that women tempt men by painting themselves into something other than what God makes them. In addition, Kenneth Branagh’s use of the two-way mirrors, with King Claudius and Polonius observing from behind one, works beautifully for Hamlets “To be, or not to be” speech. Hamlet speaks to his reflection but appears to knowingly be staring past himself and directly at the men, which is both a tad menacing and adrenaline pinching because it is not fully conveyed to the audience whether or not Hamlet is aware of his spies. Furthermore, Hamlet’s speech is a contemplation of suicide and it is significant that Branagh chose to give the speech with a knife in his hand while pointing it directly at his reflection and simultaneously at King Claudius and Polonius, because it foreshadows all their deaths and adds to Hamlets manic disposition. Branagh's visually vibrant film magnifies Shakespeare’s grand work without overshadowing his text. Branagh adds visual value to the play with startling camera angles, beautiful wintry landscapes, and emotional-wrenching music and action while remaining faithful to the plot. The actors also elegantly portray the characters and win over the audience with their authenticity and proficient execution of Shakespearean language. The play’s themes of time at a halt, Liminality, lunacy and suicide are beautifully embellished through symbolism and visual components in an unforgettably detailed, majestic style.
No comments:
Post a Comment