With 'Hamlet' - Give Mel a chance!
Franco Zefferelli's 1990 version of Shakespeare's classic is a winner
In order to promote “Hamlet” - Mel Gibson went back to the classroom -watch it!
Though he certainly hasn’t stopped making or appearing in films - 15 in the last six years - the high points of Mel Gibson’s career - “Braveheart”, “Mad Max,” the “Lethal Weapon” series, “The Patriot,” “What Women Want” - are long past. And he’s had some unfortunate public incidents that have marred his reputation and maybe tainted his filmic achievements.
And, yeah, it’s odd that having just written about “Braveheart,” last week, here I am queueing up another Gibson performance. But this time, it’s “Hamlet” and Gibson’s work that’s worth talking about. For the classroom and for you at home. In these politically charged times, it’s nice to go somewhere else - and think about why we’re here and what we can do while we are. Enjoying the greatest work of art I can think of might be one thing well worth doing.
It was a great idea, I think, for Coca-Cola to sponsor this video of Mel talking with students about Hamlet and playing the prince. If you’re interested in Shakespeare, interested in how to teach “Hamlet” or just someone interested in acting, check out this Mel Gibson program. It’s so much fun! And bringing Shakespeare to young people is always a great idea. And it’s great for older folks, too.
For every year I taught at Gadsden County High School, “Hamlet” was part of my curriculum and I used Zefferelli’s version, which I wrote about a while back on May 17 - “Is Hamlet too tough for high school kids.”
Having watched a few other versions recently - Ethan Hawke’s modern interpretation (2000), Sir Laurence Olivier’s acclaimed version (1948), Kenneth Branagh’s (1996) version which is the first to include Shakespeare’s ENTIRE four-hour play - I always come back to Mel’s version.
While as a writer, the idea of somebody actually editing Shakespeare is daring, radical, almost sacrilegious. But to me, it works because the story moves more swiftly and the awful events that just seem to descend on Hamlet’s life and upend it, happen as if the Hand Of Fate has decided it’s his turn on the wheel. And all we can do is watch.
Zefferelli created an opening scene for the film, Hamlet attending the funeral of his father where he sees his mother put on an overly dramatic teary response, then a look up to Claudius, as if to say, “Is that good enough?” It sets the scenario really effectively with almost no dialogue, just Claudius’s speech to Hamlet, which generally comes later on in the play. A bold move but it works!
Zefferelli explained in the process of making the film that his goal was to appeal to a younger audience. He wanted high school students to see, to understand Hamlet. So if he radically trimmed the roles of Rosencranz and Guildenstern and moved a few things around, so what?
Unlike many of the other “Hamlet” actors in the versions I mentioned, Gibson seems both stronger physically and yet somehow more vulnerable, a nice irony. He’s so far removed from the general rabble around him, it has to be lonesome for him. Who can he trust, confide in?
As we always discussed in class, he’s a guy who seems to absolutely have it all: Intelligence, Looks, Athleticism, Wealth, Power, yet, who can he connect with? He’s way smarter than his new “King”, has little respect (and patience) for his mother, for everyone in power in the royal kingdom, seems miles away from Ophelia, his on/off again squeeze. Who’s left?
There’s a genuine isolation to him that I didn’t really ever get from the fretting, indecisive Olivier, the brilliant, scattered but always well-mannered Branagh or the freaky, nerdy Hawke. Gibson plays Hamlet as if, even with all his pluses, he’s more alone than ever. That seems so pertinent now.
Shakespeare’s brilliant soliloquys - a couple of which appear in slightly different spots, one even shortened so that it ends on “Frailty, thy name is woman” which, also I think, works. And in a nice touch, we see Gibson looking out the window at his mother and Claudius, riding off together as new lovers, which nauseates him.
Where Gibson truly excels is in “The Mousetrap” scene where his bitter anger, fused with sarcastic humor, just lights up the screen. Shakespeare’s wit is scintillating and if you’re a teacher and you wonder if your students will ever love Shakespeare, show them this scene and watch their eyes light up.
Gibson wonderfully displays the complexities of Hamlet in these scenes, the joy, the passion, the wit, the self-loathing, the confusion over women, the intensity of someone who sees so much and so deeply yet is hamstrung by his position and his circumstance.
While Shakespeare had no way of anticipating what the world would be like so many years after he penned his masterpiece, Hamlet’s isolation, the sense that nobody could ever truly understand him, his life, his loves, seemed to really connect with many of my cell-phone addicted students. Even though they might be texting up a storm every day, the actual eye-to-eye communication between students often didn’t happen. They’d send a text instead.
Often, they couldn’t even look a teacher in the face. You’d see rows of them at lunch, all on their phones, ignoring one another. Even with this communication device in their hand, they felt more alone than ever.
Hamlet, I think, as Gibson played him, could relate to that. He’s not often mentioned as someone who played a great Hamlet. I think he did.
Wow! Great article, John. I have never seen this version and now I have to! Mr Sherwood's class had me fall in love with Shakespeare, the underlying themes, clever wordplay. Loved Branaugh's Henry V but didn't see him play Hamlet. At 1st glance I'd think Mel Gibson as Hamlet??? You're kidding. But now you've given me reason to rethink. Thanks!