Shadows on the Wall

Hamlet

dir Aneil Karia
scr Michael Lesslie
prd James Wilson, Riz Ahmed, Michael Lesslie, Allie Moore, Tommy Oliver
with Riz Ahmed, Morfydd Clark, Joe Alwyn, Sheeba Chaddha, Art Malik, Timothy Spall, Avijit Dutt, Krish Misra, Eben Figueiredo, Kash Ahmad, Zohab Zee Khan, Taru Devani
release UK 6.Feb.26,
US 10.Apr.26
25/UK Focus 1h54

TORONTO FILM FEST

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A bold approach by director Aniel Karia gives this unusual adaptation of Shakespeare's timeless play a strikingly emotional undercurrent. The juxtaposition of archaic Elizabethan poetry with gritty 21st century realism is sometimes rather uneven, and it leaves the plot feeling very murky. But the film is packed with moments that are charged with electrical energy, thanks to the stylishly visceral production and the naturalistic, powerfully introspective performances.

In present-day London, Hamlet (Ahmed) arrives for the funeral of his property developer father (Dutt), shocked to learn that his just-widowed mother Gertrude (Chaddha) is already planning to marry her brother-in-law Claudius (Malik) and assume control of Elsinore, the family's construction empire. While Hamlet reconnects with best friend Laertes (Alwyn) and his sister Ophelia (Clark), Hamlet can't help but obsess about his father's death, especially when his ghost reveals that he was murdered by Claudius. So Hamlet plays up his grieving son act, while plotting a humiliating act of revenge at Gertrude and Claudius' wedding.

Cinematographer Stuart Bentley's handheld camerawork augments the intensity right from the start, building a sense of unpredictable chaos growing around the characters. Everything about the film is expertly assembled, creating a strongly authentic view of London's South Asian subculture while zeroing in on the darker shadows lurking around this particular extended family. The main menace comes from Spall's Polonius, Claudius' sneering bodyguard and the father of Laertes and Ophelia. His goons seem to be everywhere.

Ahmed brings a riveting internalised yearning to the screen, pulling the audience in as Hamlet strains against what he knows and what he might be imagining. His jagged, conflicted interaction keeps him apart from everyone else, leading to a driving one-take explosion of Hamlet's most famous soliloquy. The cast around him is also excellent, especially as they bring a kick of earthy emotional honesty to the screen. Clark and Chaddha are particularly strong in smaller, often silent roles.

This classic story always gets under the skin as it spirals around Hamlet's existential crisis, leading to an explosion of violence that spreads in unintended and indeed tragic directions. The extent of the final act grisliness perhaps feels a little out of place in the modern-day setting, but it still carries a powerful punch. And because the script also weaves in social elements relating to property tycoons and displaced peoples, it leaves us with some other things to think about.

themes, language, violence 26.Jan.26

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