A spectacle of madmen The actors who agreed to play in this version of Hamlet can only be sympathized. They are nothing more than the scenery around Benedict Cumberbatch. No wonder his name is even included in the title of the play next to the name of the main character!
There is a bad suspicion that the director of the play Lindsey Turner got about the same function. Cumberbatch preferred to play Hamlet as he was able and used to. And that’s a big problem – it turns out to be too much the same everywhere, but on the other hand, he’s a star and he makes the whole box office!
Benedict’s Hamlet madness looks like a game of soldiers, defending his fortress from a world that is going to war on him and it seems more logical, given his circumstances. And flexibility, and yes, overexpression. But Cumberbatch was never a static actor.
The madness of Ophelia is the madness of a homeless woman from the Kursk station, it seems even gum in her hair is. It is impossible to love such a heroine, you can only pity her!
Claudius is a scumbag, and Gertrude is just confused. It is possible to interpret the story.
At the same time, it is necessary to understand that the theatrical stage is a world of conventions and agreements where brother and sister can be of different skin colors. This is typical of British theater (but no racism).
In general, the play is worth watching not only for the sake of the main character, but also for the sake of other actors who did everything not to fade in the light of the star!
I will not even comment on the speech during the bows, here the political component of what is happening is already clear!
8 out of 10
Original