The tragic story of Hamlet is widely known and understood, with the main theme being that of vengeance and madness. Whereas, this American/English adaptation of the story brings light on Ophelia's character and the tragic love story between her and Hamlet.
Directed by Claire McCarthy and written by Semi Chellas in 2018, this re-imagined tale has brilliant production and visuals being filmed in Czech Republic, lending itself to some beautiful scenery. Not only is the film visually impressive, it's euphoniously pleasing too as the music tells the story just as much. Composed by Steven Price, there are elements of orchestral and Celtic/folk genres complimenting each other to create some beautiful pieces (my favourite's are Ophelia and To lose himself in Vengeance).
The costumes (Massimo Cantini Parrini) are full of personality, displayed with the use of rich colours and elegant designs giving us hints into each character.
Focusing on Ophelia's main dress; a whimsical ocean blue with a deeper blue dotted pattern, contrasting her long wavy ginger hair compliments the nature loving heart of Ophelia. She is often called out for her 'garden' like scent during the film as she spends a lot of her time swimming in a lily pad filled lake. With such bold colours comes a strong personality and Ophelia certainly is not shy of that. The opening dialogue refers to her as someone who follows her heart and speaks her mind which can come with great reward or serious punishment. From a little girl, her quirks are appreciated by the Queen and loved by Hamlet however, many see her as a threat leading to the development of Ophelia's "madness" which is cleverly shown in the gradual lack of colour in Ophelia's garments.
As I do not want to give too much away to the plot of the story, I would say the film took a turn I was not expecting. I do not necessarily think the overall story line was executed well as it unfortunately lacked a lot of details and I just had to accept that something had happened. The film had maybe 3 narratives to expand and conclude on in a short time frame losing itself to an almost humorous ending and character arcs making little sense. Ophelia's character and telling of her story is very interesting yet a little unrealistic which could leave you either disappointed or intrigued but, it's entertaining nonetheless.
Saying this, the film was saved with really talented actors and an outstanding design team which actually makes it rather intoxicating to watch. My favourite chapter of the film is the masked costume ball as this is where we really experience the blossoming romance between Ophelia and Hamlet for the first time. The makeup, hair and costumes are beautifully weird, reminding me a little of the ballroom scene in Labyrinth. I think I have re-watched Ophelia around 8 times purely because it's very visually stunning so, for this reason I would recommend setting some time aside to watch it.
If you do watch it, please let me know your thoughts as I'd be interested to know and read what you liked or disliked about the film.
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