Hamlet (Photo – Universal Studios/PA)
Any Hamlet that begins with the dead king’s body being ceremoniously washed, followed by the ghost speaking to Hamlet in subtitled Hindi, is bound to be different.
Hamlet
Directed by Aneil Karia – 2026
Reviewed by Garrett Rowlan
Different in a good way. Despite the trepidation I felt, that this Hamlet might be like Romeo + Juliet, Baz Luhrmann’s 1997 wacky retelling of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers in Los Angeles, this version benefits from its contemporary setting and its placement within the Indian diaspora in modern London.
It also benefits from Riz Ahmed’s performance in the title role. Director Aneil Karia films many of the soliloquies at close range, stripping away the drama-school histrionics and making Hamlet’s mutterings feel more like the rambling thoughts of an unhinged mind. At times, he comes off as one of those unfortunates babbling on street corners.
I found the most innovative touch to be his delivery of the famous “to be or not to be” behind the wheel of a fast, expensive car, driven at suicidal speeds, his hands recklessly off the controls as he plays chicken with his own demise.
Another innovation is making Elsinore not a country but a housing development, one that pushes out former residents for a more profitable clientele. Hamlet discovers this while sneaking a glance into Claudius’s desk, giving him the air of a private eye uncovering corporate skulduggery.
There’s a touch of Bollywood, too, when dancers performing a musical number at the king’s wedding ceremony become part of Hamlet’s ruse to reveal Claudius as his brother’s murderer.
To be sure, this is a contemporary retelling, with tracking shots, fast cutting, and significant trimming of the traditional Hamlet, with scenes and characters eliminated to create a tidy running time and a tighter focus on a single subject: Hamlet’s revenge on his uncle.
To those who might protest, I’d say that more traditional stagings, from Laurence Olivier’s 1948 performance to Kenneth Branagh’s excellent 1996 version, are readily available.
I’m reminded, too, of the phrase “every generation gets the Shakespeare it deserves,” often invoked in relation to last year’s Hamnet, though it feels even more appropriate for this up-to-date production. And I liked this movie a lot more.
> Playing at Landmark Pasadena Playhouse, Regal Paseo, and AMC Santa Anita 16, AMC The Americana at Brand 18, and AMC Burbank 16.
Leave a Reply