Hamlet - -2009-

For centuries, Hamlet has been the Everest of dramatic literature—a role that tests the mettle of every great actor, from Laurence Olivier to Kenneth Branagh. Yet, in the vast catalog of adaptations, few have managed to capture the raw, psychological fragmentation of Shakespeare’s tragedy quite like the 2009 Hamlet .

Director Gregory Doran took advantage of the camera. He opened up the set, utilizing the vast, mirror-lined halls of Elsinore. The result is a version that feels both intimate (due to tight close-ups of Tennant’s face) and epic (due to the sweeping corridors of a spy state). The success of any Hamlet hinges on casting, and Hamlet 2009 boasts a lineup that is nearly flawless. David Tennant as Hamlet When Tennant was announced, skeptics raised eyebrows. Was the Doctor Who star too manic? Too likable? The answer was a resounding no. Tennant delivers a Hamlet of startling modernity. He discards the usual melancholic, black-clad brooder for a prince who is genuinely, clinically unhinged. hamlet -2009-

If you have ever found Shakespeare boring, watch this version. It is fast, violent, visually inventive, and profoundly sad. It reminds us that Hamlet is not a play about revenge; it is a play about the fracture of a single mind. And in 2009, that fracture was captured perfectly. For centuries, Hamlet has been the Everest of