Emotional conflict and argument in Hamlet

Emotional Rescue: No Hope for Hamlet

When we think of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, we cannot help but think of emotion, for the man was driven to incredible lengths because of what he was feeling. Watching the play is always different from watching a film interpretation of the play but when we do watch it, we gain a greater appreciation for what the playwright was attempting to create on the page. Two very different film interpretations allow us to comprehend the scope of Hamlet's emotional and extremely volatile character. Franco Zeffirelli's interpretation of Hamlet as an emotional creature is created primarily through the setting. The beginning of the play sets the mood for us, as we enter a world that is dark and in mourning. King Hamlet's funeral is the setting in which we enter the film. It is dark, depressing, and Hamlet is brooding. We see him alone and almost always cloaked in shadows, which are the way he stays, for the most part. We never think of him without thinking of this dark and dreary soul. Critic Harold Bloom observes, "something in Hamlet dies before the play opens" (Bloom 86) and this idea is established in Hamlet's demeanor. Hamlet is nothing if he is not on the outside. He is on the outside of what happened to his father; he is on the outside when it comes to his mother. Hamlet never finds his place in this film and Zeffirelli establishes this mood perfectly in his film. Hamlet is in need of an emotional rescue that never comes; his emotions drives the plot until he takes his last breath, when we all feel as though we can finally sit back and take a deep breath and relax.

One of the most powerful scenes that illustrates Hamlet's emotion occurs in the crypt when hamlet is pondering death. When he utters the famous, "To be, or not to be, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing, end them" (Hamlet), he is not just reciting lines. Zeffirelli emphasizes the melancholy mood he established at the beginning of the film and places our Hamlet in a crypt, walking between stone tombs. This scene is powerful because it allows us to see exactly where Hamlet's mind is. He is thinking about death and he is with the dead. The dead have the answer to his question but he has no way of discovering that answer. He seems to be in a vicious circle, which is how he spends most of the play. The emotion in this scene is captured not only in the setting but also in Hamlet's actions. These scenes allows us to grasp just how much emotion Hamlet is feeling and how it is difficult for him to harness that emotion and do anything productive with it.

Zeffirelli allows us to see the depth of Hamlet's emotion with females in the story. Gertrude is the first woman that becomes a catalyst for Hamlet. Much has been written about Hamlet's relationship with her and this film, in the opinion of many, establishes a relationship that is complicated at best. Samuel Crowl believes that Zeffirelli establishes another emotional aspect to his interpretation of the play, which is characterized through the mother and son relationship. Crowl agrees that the first few scenes set the mood and tone for the rest of the film but he finds that the images pertaining the Gertrude and Hamlet focus on their emotional connection.

Crowl points out, "Our first close-up is of Glenn Close's Gertrude, whose pale, sobbing face is wreathed by thick blonde braids" (Crowl). Just after she falls in to Polonius arms, the "misty interlude is shattered as a fist, clutching a handful of dust, enters the flame and slowly opens to allow the dirt to sprinkle down on the corpse" (Crowl). This scene introduces us to Zeffirelli's interpretation of the tension that exists between Hamlet and his mother as he grapples with the notion that his beloved father may have been killed. When Hamlet leaves the scene, Gertrude is still crying and, according to Crowl, "This tableau establishes Zeffirelli's decision to focus on Hamlet as a family romance, to place Gertrude firmly at its center" (Crowl). McCombe agrees, observing that Zeffirelli's film "links Hamlet's hesitancy to his unnaturally strong bond with his mother" (McCombe). Crowl believes that Gertrude is at the center of the film, or "at the center of Hamlet's fractured consciousness, rather than the ghost or Claudius. The film is much more about sons and mothers than fathers and uncles" (Crowl). While this may be true, we should also consider how this interpretation is much more emotional this way. Hamlet's troubles are predominantly linked to his mother in one way or another. Zeffirelli captures the complexities of this relationship by making it complicated and a sensitive issue for Hamlet in the long run. In the final scene of the film, we see the depth of the emotions Hamlet feels for his mother. Ophelia is another woman that allows us to see the extremity of Hamlet's emotion. She is beautiful and seems quite innocent. When Hamlet exclaims, "Get thee to a nunnery" (Hamlet), we see emotion from both characters that is stunning and very convincing. The scene with Ophelia and the flowers is realistic and it allows us to feel what she is feeling.