The Horatio played by Karl Geary in Michael Almereyda’s Hamlet appears in three scenes throughout the entire movie. Most of the scenes that Horatio appears in the play are cut entirely or parsed down significantly. A strange addition to Horatio’s character is that in this production Almereyda has given him a girlfriend who appears in many of Horatio’s scenes. The addition of this girlfriend lessens the relationship between Horatio and Hamlet, making it seem as if Hamlet is a “thrid-wheel.” Geary seems annoyed by Hamlet and bothered that he has to help him with his problems and would rather be spending time with his girlfriend.
Hamlet Directed By Michael Almereyda (2000)
On the right: Karl Geary as Horatio with Horatio's girlfriend Paula Malcomson (Marcella)
Reviews
“Almereyda de-emphasizes the Hamlet—Horatio relationship and provides Horatio with a girlfriend (Marcellus of the night watch becomes Marcella), who strikingly changes the male chemistry. She is one of only three significant characters who have been added to Shakespeare’s dramatis personae (the others are Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist Guru, and Robert MacNeil, formerly of PBS news). I take it that Almereyda chose to suppress the homophilic and misogynist undercurrents in the play.”