Mel Gibson delivers the line "Frailty thy name is woman" as we watch Glenn Close gleefully skip to Claudius and smile before planting a kiss on his lips. Gibson delivers this line with such power that we believe it. Close's Gertrude is naieve. She lives in the moment and at the moment she loves Claudius and that is all that seems to matter. Her age adds to naieveity.
Hamlet Directed By Franco Zeffirelli (1990)
Glenn Close as Gertrude
Reviews
"She is girlishly infatuated and sexually hungry with Claudius, and far too attentive in the kisses she bestows on her son."
"One often mentioned aspect of the film is the closeness in age between Hamlet and his mother played by Glenn Close who is just 9 years older than Gibson. The closeness in their ages is accentuated by the youthful portrayal of Close who runs and practically skips with joy at the beginning of the film for all the world like a giddy schoolgirl in love for the first time."