Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a dark play about a depressed prince, a murdered king, and a traitorous uncle. The depressed prince, Hamlet, shows signs of his depression in many ways. The strongest example of his melancholy is probably the famous “To be, or not to be…” soliloquy. This aside monologue is about Hamlet and his choice to either go on living, or end his life.
While Shakespeare’s words are powerful and meaningful, plays were meant to be watched, not read. Because of this, there have been many film adaptations of Hamlet, which is arguably one of Shakespeare’s most well-known works. Specifically, three adaptations showed the feeling Hamlet holds during the famous soliloquy differently. These three adaptations starred Mel Gibson, Lawrence Olivier, and Kenneth Branaugh as the leading man.
First, Mel Gibson’s take on the speech is more literal. By that, I mean we see Hamlet actually talking to himself. Mel carries a dark tone in his voice that suggests anger or sorrow. Gibson recites the legendary soliloquy in a dark room. The only things that are visible in this room are walls and the steps that he walked down to get into the room. The scene could be in a basement, from these observations. The dark colors and Gibson’s tone help create the darkness of this scene.
Next is Lawrence Olivier’s interpretation. This adaptation of the play was made before color was introduced to television and film. Black and white color schemes are always effective in creating a dark mood, as bright colors tend to give people a feeling of happiness. There is even less color in this scene than in Mel’s dark room. Now, rather than being in a dark room and simply talking, Lawrence is standing on what appears to be rocks above a body of water. Olivier does an excellent job at showing us what the speech is really about, and the music adds to it. Olivier does so by first looking into the water, as if he was thinking about jumping in. He then pulls out a dagger and stares at it as he talks. Suspenseful music comes in as the dagger gets closer and closer to him. After taking the dagger away from his body, we discover that Hamlet chooses to live, as he gets up before he finishes his speech and walks away. The tone in this scene is also good for the darkness of the scene, but I feel that Mel did a better job. Mel varied his tone from anger to sorrow, while Lawrence just seemed apathetic.
Finally, we have Kenneth Branaugh. This depiction of the scene is definitely the most artistic and creative. The director uses juxtaposition by having Kenneth wear all black, while is in a bright, white room. Kenneth approaches a mirror and talks to his own reflection in the mirror, which I honestly thought was a little cheesy. This is the only scene where other characters are aware of Hamlet’s contemplation, as Ophelia walks in at the end of the speech. As Branaugh gets closer and closer to the mirror, he pulls out a dagger and aims it at his reflection, while eerie music gets louder and louder. In this portrayal, it seems as though the reason Hamlet chooses life is because he loves Ophelia. I feel as though Kenneth’s tone is better than Lawrence’s tone, but not as good as Mel’s. Kenneth sounds legitimately sad, but only sad. In my opinion, this version of the scene would work for a (slightly cheesy) epic movie.
Each director envisioned this scene in their own way, with their own actor. Each actor fit the scene and did an excellent job at their specific situation. Gibson’s speech had the best tone, while I feel that Lawrence’s actions in his scene seemed the most true to the play. Kenneth’s scene was really just visually pleasing.
