ABSTRACT
Michael Almereyda's film version of Almereyda Hamlet, starring Ethan Hawke, sticks to Shakespeare's language but updates the setting to New York City in 2000, the year of the film's release. In his preface to the published screenplay, Almereyda declares himself heartened by Jan Kott's declaration that 'An ideal Hamlet would be one most true to Shakespeare and most modern at the same time.' The Hamlet is set in the canyonlands of New York City, a world in which tall, featureless office buildings mirror other tall, featureless office buildings. Taunting Polonius, Hamlet leans out from behind the corner of a mirrored wall: two Hamlets, at complementary jaunty angles, confront the camera. Claudius receives Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's report on Hamlet via speaker phone, sitting on the edge of the bed he shares with Gertrude, while Gertrude, lolling in bed with something other than state business on her mind, teases him and finally starts to undress him.
