There are two kinds of people in
this world: those who love Shakespeare, and those have not been properly
introduced.
If you fall into the latter
category, you may not enjoy the 2009 RSC Hamlet,
starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. As a TV film of a stage production, it’s well, stagey. The 1990 Zeffirelli Hamlet, starring Mel Gibson and Glenn
Close, is much more cinematic and, in my opinion, a better introduction to the
play for non-aficionados (I love
Kenneth Branagh. I really do. But his 1996 film struck me as bloated
and flat.).
If you’re a member of the former
category, however, you’ll love this Hamlet. The staginess won’t put you off, and
you’ll home in on the quality of the direction and performances. You’ll find that David Tennant, who
found fame playing the eponymous Doctor for four seasons of the BBC’s hit show
‘Doctor Who,’ is an actor gifted with range as well as charisma. He goes big with his Hamlet, and that
“bigness” sets off the intimacy of the soliloquies. Patrick Stewart, as Claudius, demonstrates how even the
subtlest of gestures or tics can illuminate a character and generate sympathy
in unexpected ways. With the same
motion, he can show us why Gertrude loves him and Hamlet hates him, and he can
make us do a little of both.
This production’s biggest
surprise, however, is Oliver Ford Davies as Polonius. Davies, who earned the undying enmity of all people
everywhere by appearing in not one, but all three, of the Star Wars prequels (Sio
Bibble, governor of Naboo. Hey, everyone
has bills to pay.), steals every scene he’s in. His Polonius is smart, funny, wily, and beginning to succumb
to senility. His dialogue drips
off his tongue just so, and we in the audience light up every time he enters
the frame. In fact, I’d say his is
a definitive Polonius: someone worth trusting, worth obeying, worth avenging.
So, there you have it. Outstanding performances, reasonably
well shot in an RSC-for-tv kind of way, and as good as any Hamlet you’re likely to see.
This Hamlet is a winner.
