That brings me to Hamlet and his actor. I agree with Branagh: that is not an easy scene to act. There's so much emotion that must be flowing through Hamlet's head. This certain mix of emotion is almost possible to achieve in a sense. How many people do you know who have met their dead father? None. Although I do admit it's tough to play the role, I felt like the actor could have done more than stare in awe at the ghost. Branagh himself did a good job setting the mood of the scene, though. It was extremely clear that this was not a family reunion. There was business to be dealt with and the ghost had no time to really rejoice with his son. The last thing that struck me about the scene in a positive way was Hamlet's hand almost, I think, touching his dead father's hand. It helped me realize how close Hamlet might have been with his father, and the loyalty he has towards him.
Now... the criticism! I'll be straightforward; I was cringing for a solid 50% of the scene. The ghost was really not how I pictured it to be, which is understandable, but I felt like Branagh kind of butchered the ghost for me. Most of the mood and tone of the scene was fantastic, but some of the filming was tough to watch. The worst part being the back and fourth between his mouth and his bleeding ear. I was honestly really confused and personally I didn't want to stare at his mouth that long. I liked the ghost's eyes though, they were chilling. I don't know what to think about the ghost whispering all his lines. It added mood to the scene, but it was not pleasant to listen to.
Besides that little rant, I believe Branagh did a great job depicting emotion and setting up tension for future scenes.
The 'valiant' ghost!
Hey Nick!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your interpretation of Branagh’s portrayal of the ghost scene. I completely agree with your criticisms of the scene, well, because they are a lot like mine! The biggest problem I had with this scene was the ghost’s voice, which made you cringe as well, because it reminded me of Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and it just felt wrong. Portraying the ghost whispering and statuesque with Voldemort’s voice butchered the ghost from me too! Another one of your criticisms was that Hamlet could have showed more emotion, and I agree. I understand that Hamlet must have been very overwhelmed in talking to the ghost of his father, but he just stared at him dumbfounded, like his eyes had glossed over. I think that the worst part of Hamlet’s reaction is that Branagh talked up the actor’s ability to communicate the many emotions that he must have been feeling; when in reality we got the one jaw-dropped stare.
Hi Nick! I really enjoyed your point of view on this version of Hamlet. I completely agree with you on how I imagined the murder of King Hamlet. I was also surprised when Branagh depicted a cold-blooded murderer. Though I didn't see the look of guilt in his eyes, I would imagine that he would feel a little bad because he did kill his brother. Though you began to hate Claudius at that moment, I have disliked him since I found out he was marrying his sister-in-law. As for Hamlet, I completely agree that the actor who portrayed Hamlet could've done a better job. But your points completely make sense and I really liked your point of view!
ReplyDeleteNick,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I completely agree with your criticism of the filming during the ghost scene. That was, putting it nicely, uncomfortable to watch. And it was extremely repetitive; ghost's face, ear, Hamlet(just staring). However, I think Branagh's choice to make the assassination scene violent was a great one; it emphasizes the cruelty of Claudius. Although, I think Claudius should have portrayed a stone-cold expression while his brother writhed in pain, to show that Claudius was cold-hearted. A peaceful death would not make the audience hate Claudius as much as a evil one might.
On the ghost scene with Hamlet, I had imagined the ghost trying to help Hamlet, not scare him, because the ghost says he wants the wrongs that have happened to be righted.