Dear Kenneth Branagh
I was quite impressed with your rendition of Hamlet! I must say that when i first saw you in the play you did not even come close to my idea of what Hamlet looks like, which threw me off, but you made up for it. I think the thing you did so well was that you followed the actual play almost exactly. Some people seemed to think that you were too old for the role, but the way you portrayed the emotional Hamlet put that thought on the back burner for me. Even in the most intense moments in the book you hit the emotional aspect perfectly!
Now, while i thought you portrayed Hamlet’s emotional side perfectly you did stretch some things a little bit, especially towards the end. The last scene seemed almost unreal. The sword throwing, and people dropping dead left and right and no one paying attention… didn’t seem all that real to me. I think while that last scene is a very dramatic one, it should be done in a more serious manner, with emphasis on the important deaths and how those deaths came about, instead of just a duel to the death. Overall i thought you did a great job though!
May 24th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
“Yeah it was a smidge over dramatic. But also it’s a play and they aren’t supposed to be perfect. But but i do agree with you that it was an overall good performance.”- From Garrett