Hamlet (1990)

In medieval Denmark, a prince (Mel Gibson) is dismayed when his mother (Glenn Close) marries her brother in law (Alan Bates) so soon after his father's (Paul Scofield) death. When he discovers the King was murdered by his brother in order to get both the throne and the queen, he plots his revenge. Adapted from the play by William Shakespeare and directed by Franco Zeffirelli. While purists may be disturbed with how Zeffirelli has pared down Shakespeare's tragedy to the essentials, as cinema, it works quite nicely. Zeffirelli's ROMEO AND JULIET (1968) was a popular box office success because it attracted the youth crowd by casting teenagers (however inadequate they were as actors) in the leads. Here by casting Gibson (who at least was a classically trained actor) known at the time for his role in action movies like MAD MAX and LETHAL WEAPON, he hoped to attract the younger crowd again. It didn't repeat ROMEO AND JULIET's success but it's a solid effort. There are many things to admire about it and Gibson's performance (while unlikely to be listed with the great Hamlets) is among them. The film's best performance comes from Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia. I've seen many Ophelias and I've never been as moved as I was by Bonham Carter's "mad" scene(s). She doesn't overplay it yet you ache for her descent into madness. The film is immeasurably aided by Ennio Morricone's strong underscore. With Ian Holm, Nathaniel Parker, Pete Postlethwaite and John McEnery.