Artist Statement

How does your film analyze the themes and/or characters in Hamlet?

In our film, the theme and character we chose to analyze deeply in Hamlet, was Hamlet himself and his progression throughout the play changing and becoming crazier every new turning point the play is drawn to. Hamlet's unusual and strange behavior began with the death of his father, and the sudden marriage between his uncle and mother, Queen Gertrude. In the Michael Almereyda film, they portrayed Hamlet as depressed and loner person who really did have a care to anything much. At some parts suicidal. "O, that this too too solid flesh would melt. Thaw and ... resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God! How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world!"(1.2.5) Here, Hamlets thoughts are suicidal and emotionally unstable because he describes his desire to have his "flesh melt" and dissolve into "dew" in reaction to his fathers death and the marriage between his uncle and mother. The gross thoughts that Hamlet played out in his mind are those of a suicidal and unstable person who do not respond easily to an emotional issue. Which only a crazy person who found that their flesh burning satisfies their unstable emotional problem.

Confused and unstable, Hamlet is met by his father in the form of a ghost to relay the tragic news about his death. Hamlet is told that his uncle, now King Claudius had killed him and Hamlet becomes furious. Here , Hamlet plans his next steps to avenge his father but in a strange way. After Hamlet is met by the ghost, Hamlet's friends come to check-up on him and Hamlet's responds to them comforting him as "How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself, As I perchance hereafter shall think meet. To put an antic disposition on." (1.5.58) In the Almereyda film, Hamlet is quick and moves back and forth portraying himself as a madmen who cannot control himself. Weird. Why would you tell your friends that you are going to put on antic disposition, when they are trying to comfort you? Maybe because he is becoming a madman! Which an "antic" is basically; "A clown or a performer playing a grotesque role"(http://www.shmoop.com/hamlet/madness-quotes.html)

Hamlet playing his role of lunatic goes on displaying himself to everyone his crude remarks and unusual behavior. One who has taken note of Hamlet's disturbing behavior is the father of Hamlet's lover, Polonius. In the Almereyda film, Polonius is presented as a caring father to his daughter, Ophelia who is pursued by Hamlet which he takes caution too. "He knew me not at first; he said I was a ... fishmonger: he is far gone, far gone: and truly in my youth I suffered much extremity for love; very near this."(2.2.8) Polonius explains here that Hamlet is far gone and is out of control. He compares him to a fishmonger "which is slang for "pimp."(shmoop.com) Hamlet references the fishmonger comment because he feels that he uses his daughter as if a pimp would use a prostitute. And even before compares Ophelia "[to a] dead dog [that] breeds maggots."(2.2.5)

Hamlet pretending to be a raving lunatic throughout the play began with his father returning to him as a ghostly figure. Once more the ghost of his father had returned to Hamlet after the confrontation with Queen Gertrude and the death of Polonius. In the Kenneth Braunnah version, this scene was built around Hamlet's demise as a sane individual because of figment of imagination creating his father's ghost.  "(Hamlet):How is it with you, lady? (Queen Gertrude): Alas, how is't with ... flame of thy distemper. Sprinkle cool patience. Whereon do you look?"(3.4.18) The ghost of Hamlet's father is once again visible to Hamlet and only seen by Hamlet and not even Gertrude. Which is pretty interesting because before Hamlet was told by the guards and his friends that they were seeing a ghost earlier, but now is only visible to Hamlet. A figment of imagination? Indeed it is because why else wouldn't anybody else see this ghost, if in the beginning everyone else could? Now Hamlet is loosing his mind and him pretending to be a madman has taken over him.