Almeredya's Hamlet

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Recommended: The significance of hamlet in the 21st century

Michael Almereyda offers a modern interpretation of Shakespeare's traditional play, Hamlet. Almereyda keeps the majority of the play's framework intact while transitioning it from an Elizabethan setting to that of a contemporary one. Since the majority of the play's text did not fit his 21st-century backdrop, several portions are left out. The language of the dialogue itself remains unaffected. The use of technology in the 2000's is shown overall primarily, displaying certain elements presented in the play like his isolation and Opehlia's sense of culpability.
Almereyda sets Hamlet in the modernized New York City, perfect for hiding corruption and madness under its glittering beauty, while using modern-day technology. As Hamlet, Ethan Hawke's incessant use of video tapes and cameras illustrates his looming isolation and representation of melancholic. The dependence on the use of digital technology best exhibits his paranoia. Rainer, a movie critic, explains "this latest movie incarnation...readily lends itself to a high-tech consumerist culture where everyone is watching and being watched" (New York Magazine). The fact that he is held under constant supervision in the play transitions over into
Almeredya's interpretation. His need to constantly video tape everything, from Ophelia's laugh to his somber video diaries, shows his melancholy attitude about death and apprehension of the future.
The use of technology shows both sides of how it can hold an impersonal and personal relationships. Similar to the play, Hawke shows the audience how close of a relationship he and his parents had together. According to Zacharek, "young Hamlet...plays out his personal misery against a bank of video screens splayed out on his desk. He obses...

... middle of paper ...

... cast of its characters. The concept of them always being watched and are never alone adds to the overall attitude and personality of its characters. The contemporary outlook of the director's interpretation reaches the attention of the modern-day audience but looses the importance of the play's message.

Works Cited

Hamlet. Dir. Michael Almereyda. By William Shakespeare. Perf. Ethan Hawke and Kyle MacLachlan. Miramax Films, 2000. Netflix. Netflix, Inc. Web. 03 May 2014.
Mitchell, Elvis. "'Hamlet': A Simpler Melancholy in a Different Denmark." Rev. ofHamlet. The New York Times 12 May 2000, Film Review sec.: 1-2. The New York Times on the Web. 12 May 2000. Web. 03 May 2014.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square, 2002. Print.
Zackarek, Stephanie. "“Hamlet”." Salon. Salon, 12 May 2000. Web. 04 May 2014.

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