It was a mistake to follow along with my copy of Hamlet as I watched this movie as vast parts of the play (including, most egregiously, the scene including the famous lines “Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him, Horatio”!!!!) are not in this version of the movie. Ethan Hawk has those great brooding eyes and he made a pretty good Hamlet, but I found Julia Styles’ (and I know this was not her fault, but still) rave-inspired clothing to be overly distracting to her performance. The New York City setting worked, though I found the “corporation”rather than “country” setting to be a bit off.*
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2000/hamlet.html
*Fun fact for Casey Affleck fans: It is Casey Affleck himself who plays Fortinbras, the eventual “winner” of it all. Though we only see his picture, never the actor himself.
Hmmm…didn't really remember that Mr. H had a brooding eyed Hamlet that came out in 2000. And with the adorable Julia Stiles as Ophelia. Wonder where I was for this film…
I vaguely recall seeing this movie when it came out in the theater. I think that I didn't really like it, but I suspect that I don't like the story of Hamlet. I remember that E'an absolute loved it.