It is apparent in Almereyda’s Hamlet that Ethan Hawke plays the prince of Denmark as a young adult who chooses to be a loner and is filled with angst. For most of this movie Hawke hides behind an oversized hat and sunglasses (Pictured left) while ignoring the complaints of his mother and step-father. He is pictured multiple times in his dimly-lit apartment surrounded by food wrappers. His soliloquies are quiet, whispered internal monologues that represent the angst that Hamlet feels.
On of the biggest indicators for this characterization are Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” speech (Video Below), which is initially said as Hamlet watches a video he made of himself. In this video, Hamlet holds a gun and switches off sticking it in his mouth and putting it to the side of his head. At the point where the plot begins to pick up, right before Polonius is killed, Hawke stands out on the street in New York right in front of a giant sign that reads “MANIA” which indicated that Hamlet is leaving his state of depression and is becoming manic which is needed in order for the rest of the play to happen.
Hamlet Directed By Michael Almereyda (2000)
From Left: Ethan Hawke (Hamlet), Diane Verona (Gertrude), and Kyle MacLaughlin (Claudius).
"To Be or Not to Be" -Ethan Hawke
Reviews
“Melancholy of Hamlet (Ethan Hawke) over the death of his father is almost a state of grace; it gives him a sense of purpose that the other characters lack.”
“But this Hamlet, wearing knit caps that make him look like a lost member of the Spin Doctors, is mired in an arrested adolescence that infantilizes him. For this conception to be fully realized, Hamlet's interior monologues shouldn't so fully mirror what's going on with him outwardly; a contrast would have provided some tension. Mr. Hawke's moping slows things down too much, and a clip from a James Dean movie playing behind him emphasizes the self-pitying aspect.”
Click here to view full article.
“The play, as I mentioned, is also about that heroic Prince of Denmark, as opposed to a mumbling wimp with too much video time on his hands.”
“Hamlet himself is subsumed by this modern setting. Our central thinker spends most of his time hidden in a woolen sherpa's cap and mumbling soliloquies into a video camera – which becomes an electronic diary for his thoughts.”
Click here to view full article.
“He doesn’t sound as if he comprehends much of his own speeches, and I didn’t have an easy time either, especially since he mumbles his way through almost all of his lines, as if that were the only way he can signify that he’s bummed out.”
“Hamlet, when we meet him, is supposed to be melancholy and indecisive (which Hawke plays as annoying, moody and brooding), but we are also supposed to believe that he was once different. However, I didn’t believe that, so his death wasn’t a tragedy.”
Click here to view full article.
“Ethan Hawke stars as Hamlet, and he plays him as though he were the ultimate slacker. Sporting a disheveled look (complete with kicky ski hat), Hawke's Hamlet is less the vicious soldier that others have played him, and more of a confused 20-something rebel”
Click here to view full article.