Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in his own version of Hamlet in 1996. His version contained the text in its entirety without any exclusion, clocking in at a full 238 minutes. Branagh’s film version of Hamlet contributed to the play’s understanding of Hamlet’s “antic disposition” by its portrayal of Old Hamlet’s Ghost, the famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy, the love scenes between Hamlet and Ophelia, the confessional scene, and the play within the play. Branagh shows that Hamlet is not overwhelmed by madness, but rather focused with rage and vengeance for the death of his father.

Branagh’s Hamlet is brilliant, exciting, and fresh. He has filmed Hamlet in its entirety, without any omissions or rewrites. This allows Branagh to show the audience the fullness of every role, especially his own performance as Hamlet. Branagh begins the play with a focus on the pain, frustration, rage, and depression that Hamlet feels after the death of his father and the adulterous marriage of his mother. As the play proceeds, his passion for revenge is focused, and his mission to put things right becomes obvious. Branagh portrays Hamlet with remarkable courage, and in an interesting and innovative fashion, giving greater insight to the “antic disposition” that Hamlet is affected with.

Branagh also depicts the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia in an innovative manner. He uses inter-cut nude bedroom scenes of Hamlet and Ophelia to establish for the audience that Hamlet and Ophelia have been secretly making love, a tactic not employed by previous Hamlet directors. These flashbacks give weight to the subsequent interchanges between Hamlet and Ophelia, culminating in the “get thee to a nunnery” scene. Previously, Polonius has read Hamlet’s letter to Ophelia in front of Claudius and Gertrude, and Hamlet says that he loved Ophelia once (2.2, 119). When Hamlet asks Ophelia where her father is and she replies “at home”, he knows that she too has betrayed him. Accordingly, Hamlet’s pain that stems from Ophelia’s betrayal is genuine, and not the result of his “antic disposition.”

Some topics in this essay:
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