Jude Law's Hamlet is described by many as "energetic" and even "a human time-bomb" (Curry 103). Law himself describes his choice for acting Hamlet as "try[ing] to play each moment as it comes" and drawing off of the other actor's energy on the stage (Curry 103).
Law believes that the encounter with Hamlet's father’s ghost triggers a new way of thinking and acting as a form of "self-protection" (Curry 104). Law states that he believes "there are elements of hysteria, and to me that's about as close as he gets to true madness" (Curry 104). Critics all seem to agree (see "Reviews" below) Law's Hamlet comes across as powerfully energetic, even a little too much so at times.
Hamlet Directed By Michael Grandage (2009)
Mel Gibson as Hamlet in Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet
Reviews
"If vigor were all in acting Shakespeare, Jude Law would be a gold medal Hamlet. Playing the doomed Prince of Denmark in the barnstorming production that opened on Tuesday night at the Broadhurst Theater..."
"Hold your breath, sports fans! Here’s Mr. Law, lithe and taut, bracing himself for that first tricky soliloquy, “O that this too too solid flesh would melt.” No melting here. Mr. Law, gesturing and enunciating violently, nails the speech with the attack of an electric hammer. But can he keep it up for “O what a rogue and peasant slave am I” and “To be or not to be” and “Alas, poor Yorick”? Yes, he can, bringing the same athletic gusto and no trace of fatigue (or modulation) to each and every one."
"Law was filled with ferocious anger, snarling and squaring up during the soliloquies."
"For every action of any other actor on the stage, he supplies four, and he never stops gesticulating."
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