Hamlet - coda
Back from seeing the filmed production of Hamlet, and some final observations:
- wow, the views were glorious - I was so distracted by BC's face in general, particularly his eyes and cheekbones. I almost stopped finding him attractive for a while there, but in close up there's really something about him that's utterly compelling. Mmm.
- textures. So many textures. Dress fabrics, the scratched wood of the piano, letters, photographs, the metal camera, the glossy telephones, black confetti. Loved being able to "experience" these little details as well.
- so much more intimate than sitting in the audience, even front row - loved being able to see everyone's faces and expressions. God, so many teary-eyed actors, though. Hamlet = three hours of crying and dying. Ha.
BC's performance - actually felt notably different from when I saw it live. He seemed to have his emotional dial turned up to at least 8 right from the beginning, and at times it hit 15 (out of 10). He went so purple in the face at the height of his emoting that I really worried that he might explode. He was very energetic when I saw him, but not nearly so tearful or hyperactive (let's say he went from 6 to 12 instead). I thought this Hamlet bordered on hysterical most of the time, which sits really weirdly (for me) with his supposed inertia, and his interpretation is still very much Not My Division. I felt like I was listening to a finely tuned symphonic orchestra that really only went from forte to fortiss(iss)imo, when I really wanted much more light and shade. It's not like he can't do it, as evidenced by his handful of beautifully quiet moments. It's just that apparently he thinks that Hamlet is just that overwrought most of the time, with which I respectfully disagree. His default level was "vehement", generally accompanied by occasional blinking and the hands-on-either-side-of-head or the gesturing-towards-the-heavens movements of anguish that made me wince with how often they were repeated. Someone on my f-list (I think the post is locked so I won't name names) called the play very "shouty" and while I didn't think the performance I saw live was particularly shouty, this one certainly felt much more so.
+ve
- "What a piece of work is a man" was quiet and perfectly pitched, probably my favourite part of this performance. I always did like Ros and Guil, in their stoner way, but I appreciated them even more in the filmed production. Their laid-back demeanour seemed to have a way of grounding BC so that he tended to pull back a bit in scenes with them, which helped immeasurably. In general, I thought he was at his best playing against them - even during the "do you think I am easier to be played upon than a pipe?" scene, his fury at least seemed justified by the situation.
- the gravedigger scene was as much of a highlight as before, and again when Hamlet joins in he's relaxed and not borderline hysterical for a change, making him so much more watchable.
- "To be or not to be" worked better for me this time, mainly because in close-up the toy soldier outfit was paradoxically not quite so distracting, and I could watch his face instead. Again, this is the pitch I wished BC worked at 80% of the time, rather than 10%. Also, I noted that "fardels" came back, which I'm almost sure was "burdens" when I saw it.
- I was more impressed by Voltemand this time, for no particular reason other than that she did her job.
- Ciaran Hinds actually did have some good moments, particularly when he gave up trying to pray, and started planning Hamlet's demise instead, but mostly I still wanted to slap him for mangling the rhythm of his speeches. So I liked him better, at least in parts, but that's still not saying much.
-ve
- Hamlet's "if it is to come" speech was not quite so moving in this performance as I found in the one I saw, mainly because he started getting wound up again at the end of it and therefore did not let it fall softly away.
- Much as I enjoyed the gravedigger I still hated KJ as the King. He doesn't look or sound kingly, and the ripping open of the shirt to show the crust over his "all his smooth body" is even more ridiculous in close up.
- Horatio annoyed me more than ever. I think it's that by talking so fast and so breathily he only accentuates Hamlet's hysteria rather than balancing it. I've always thought Horatio was quite a strong presence in the play, but he just doesn't seem like much here, maybe because of all the cutting.
- the "comedy" is still utterly lost on me. I mean, some of the audience laughed, but I just don't get the point of Hamlet pulling faces and doing silly walks and voices - that's not "feigning madness", that's just being a giant jackass. We are not amused *g*
Mostly not much else changed from my original feelings, so sadly, the filming didn't "fix everything" as much as I'd hoped. In particular, I still think the balcony and huge flight of stairs makes for some horribly awkward moments, and I don't know why it was staged this way. Perhaps just to try and make use of the massive space? Anyway, I'm happy to draw a line under this production at last and move on.
For what it's worth, my gold standard will probably always be Branagh - since seeing BC's Hamlet I've gone back to watch parts of the Branagh version several times just to check that there really is a version of Hamlet I can appreciate, and it still works for me. Sure, he's not afraid of getting a little overblown, but I rather like that - at least he uses the full spectrum of what he can do. And on reflection I think that what strikes me most is that Branagh has a reverence for the *words* - you know, those things Shakespeare purportedly wrote - that is just not evident in this production. Most of the time BC just seems to use the text as a conduit for floods of emotion without registering the detail of the language at all, beautifully pronounced though it is. Whereas I truly get the feeling Branagh has considered a multitude of possible readings for each and every line, and settled on the one he likes best, one that gives each word its proper weight and due. Some of them are expected, some of them are surprising, but they all make sense. I did feel that about BC's performance in Frankenstein - that he was feeling every word - but I didn't get that here except during the occasional soliloquy, and I guess that's what I was really hoping for.
Also:-
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride at the cinema: not yet booked, but want to go. How about you?
Doctor Strange filming pics - strangely attractive. He's totally channelling Christian Bale in Batman Begins and I love it *g*
- wow, the views were glorious - I was so distracted by BC's face in general, particularly his eyes and cheekbones. I almost stopped finding him attractive for a while there, but in close up there's really something about him that's utterly compelling. Mmm.
- textures. So many textures. Dress fabrics, the scratched wood of the piano, letters, photographs, the metal camera, the glossy telephones, black confetti. Loved being able to "experience" these little details as well.
- so much more intimate than sitting in the audience, even front row - loved being able to see everyone's faces and expressions. God, so many teary-eyed actors, though. Hamlet = three hours of crying and dying. Ha.
BC's performance - actually felt notably different from when I saw it live. He seemed to have his emotional dial turned up to at least 8 right from the beginning, and at times it hit 15 (out of 10). He went so purple in the face at the height of his emoting that I really worried that he might explode. He was very energetic when I saw him, but not nearly so tearful or hyperactive (let's say he went from 6 to 12 instead). I thought this Hamlet bordered on hysterical most of the time, which sits really weirdly (for me) with his supposed inertia, and his interpretation is still very much Not My Division. I felt like I was listening to a finely tuned symphonic orchestra that really only went from forte to fortiss(iss)imo, when I really wanted much more light and shade. It's not like he can't do it, as evidenced by his handful of beautifully quiet moments. It's just that apparently he thinks that Hamlet is just that overwrought most of the time, with which I respectfully disagree. His default level was "vehement", generally accompanied by occasional blinking and the hands-on-either-side-of-head or the gesturing-towards-the-heavens movements of anguish that made me wince with how often they were repeated. Someone on my f-list (I think the post is locked so I won't name names) called the play very "shouty" and while I didn't think the performance I saw live was particularly shouty, this one certainly felt much more so.
+ve
- "What a piece of work is a man" was quiet and perfectly pitched, probably my favourite part of this performance. I always did like Ros and Guil, in their stoner way, but I appreciated them even more in the filmed production. Their laid-back demeanour seemed to have a way of grounding BC so that he tended to pull back a bit in scenes with them, which helped immeasurably. In general, I thought he was at his best playing against them - even during the "do you think I am easier to be played upon than a pipe?" scene, his fury at least seemed justified by the situation.
- the gravedigger scene was as much of a highlight as before, and again when Hamlet joins in he's relaxed and not borderline hysterical for a change, making him so much more watchable.
- "To be or not to be" worked better for me this time, mainly because in close-up the toy soldier outfit was paradoxically not quite so distracting, and I could watch his face instead. Again, this is the pitch I wished BC worked at 80% of the time, rather than 10%. Also, I noted that "fardels" came back, which I'm almost sure was "burdens" when I saw it.
- I was more impressed by Voltemand this time, for no particular reason other than that she did her job.
- Ciaran Hinds actually did have some good moments, particularly when he gave up trying to pray, and started planning Hamlet's demise instead, but mostly I still wanted to slap him for mangling the rhythm of his speeches. So I liked him better, at least in parts, but that's still not saying much.
-ve
- Hamlet's "if it is to come" speech was not quite so moving in this performance as I found in the one I saw, mainly because he started getting wound up again at the end of it and therefore did not let it fall softly away.
- Much as I enjoyed the gravedigger I still hated KJ as the King. He doesn't look or sound kingly, and the ripping open of the shirt to show the crust over his "all his smooth body" is even more ridiculous in close up.
- Horatio annoyed me more than ever. I think it's that by talking so fast and so breathily he only accentuates Hamlet's hysteria rather than balancing it. I've always thought Horatio was quite a strong presence in the play, but he just doesn't seem like much here, maybe because of all the cutting.
- the "comedy" is still utterly lost on me. I mean, some of the audience laughed, but I just don't get the point of Hamlet pulling faces and doing silly walks and voices - that's not "feigning madness", that's just being a giant jackass. We are not amused *g*
Mostly not much else changed from my original feelings, so sadly, the filming didn't "fix everything" as much as I'd hoped. In particular, I still think the balcony and huge flight of stairs makes for some horribly awkward moments, and I don't know why it was staged this way. Perhaps just to try and make use of the massive space? Anyway, I'm happy to draw a line under this production at last and move on.
For what it's worth, my gold standard will probably always be Branagh - since seeing BC's Hamlet I've gone back to watch parts of the Branagh version several times just to check that there really is a version of Hamlet I can appreciate, and it still works for me. Sure, he's not afraid of getting a little overblown, but I rather like that - at least he uses the full spectrum of what he can do. And on reflection I think that what strikes me most is that Branagh has a reverence for the *words* - you know, those things Shakespeare purportedly wrote - that is just not evident in this production. Most of the time BC just seems to use the text as a conduit for floods of emotion without registering the detail of the language at all, beautifully pronounced though it is. Whereas I truly get the feeling Branagh has considered a multitude of possible readings for each and every line, and settled on the one he likes best, one that gives each word its proper weight and due. Some of them are expected, some of them are surprising, but they all make sense. I did feel that about BC's performance in Frankenstein - that he was feeling every word - but I didn't get that here except during the occasional soliloquy, and I guess that's what I was really hoping for.
Also:-
Sherlock: The Abominable Bride at the cinema: not yet booked, but want to go. How about you?
Doctor Strange filming pics - strangely attractive. He's totally channelling Christian Bale in Batman Begins and I love it *g*