Who do you think you are, the Prince of Denmark? Such is the complaint I'd like to lodge with wordy, lordly, self-obsessed people whose introverted grievances often manifest themselves in extroverted acts of harm. Hamlet had always struck me as a curious choice for a hero. It's true he gave some great speeches and avenged the death of his father, but look at the havoc he wreaked in the meantime. When it comes to loyal sons who slay their evil uncles, Simba in "The Lion King" could teach the Prince a thing or two.
Michael Almereyda ("Nadia") shows us a Hamlet who never pretends to be anything other than what he is: a wordy, lordly, self-obsessed son trapped in the web of his own nightmare. The director has undertaken to bring "Hamlet" to the screen for the 50th time in history, only this time the backdrop is present-day Manhattan and Hamlet is a young, hip, filmmaker wannabe. He's so with it in fact, that you want to start calling him "Hammy" but then that would be rude to Ethan Hawke, who plays the role with calculated excellence.
Almereyda wanted to cast someone around 30, which is Hamlet's estimated age and Hawke was his happy choice. Up to now, heavy-duty gents like Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh had grabbed the part, which is one of the reasons why Hamlet had seemed remote and lofty but somehow comical -- here was a guy who wore tights in the most crucial moments of his life.