OPHELIA (2018) Honest Review:
An Awkward Hamlet Reimagining
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Work Identity
Movie Title: Ophelia
Film Type: Historical, romance, drama
Director: Claire McCarthy
Producers: Daniel Bobker, Sarah Curtis, Ehren Kruger, Paul Hanson
Author: Semi Chellas
Cast: Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, Clive Owen, George MacKay, Tom Felton, Devon Terrell
Release Date: January 22, 2018 (Sundance) ; June 28, 2019 (United States) ; 22 November 2019 (United Kingdom)
Duration: 107 minutes
Review
Ophelia (2018), is a Netflix movie directed by Claire McCarthy. The movie is adapted from William Shakespeare’s legendary play, Hamlet, that is set in the 14th century Denmark. Although actually, Ophelia, a young adult historical fiction novel by Lisa Klein, is the source material for this movie. It stars Daisy Ridley as the lead role alongside Naomi Watts, Clive Owen, George MacKay, Tom Felton, Devon Terrell, and Dominic Mafham.
Ophelia (2018) has 6,5/10 review in IMDb, which is not that bad for a Netflix produced movie. And that is the reason I’m curious to watch and review this movie.
Ophelia (2018) is an another reimagine of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, originally written by Lisa Klein. Told in the lenses of Ophelia.
The story begins with the appearance of Ophelia, who is the daughter of Polonius, the Danish King’s chief counchillor. One day, she appeared at a palace banquet with all her free-spirited, determination, and ambition self. At the same time, she has won the Queen, Gertrude’s favor. Ophelia thereby became the Queen's preferred lady in waiting. Nevertheless, the other ladies make fun of her lack of nobility.
She spent her childhood there, where she also developed feelings for Prince Hamlet, the lone son of the Queen. Prince Hamlet soon begins courting Ophelia upon his return from Wittenberg, but their blossoming romance is cut short when Hamlet returns to Wittenberg to continue his studies. At the same time, Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius begins to enamour Gertrude. When Hamlet returns to find that his father is dead and his uncle has claimed the throne, she becomes a threat, especially when she and Hamlet are aligned.
In the middle of the kingdom's own political intrigue and betrayal and as it stands on the verge of war, a passionate, hidden romance blossoms between the two. Ophelia deftly navigates the rules of power in Denmark while battling to choose between her true love and her own life after Hamlet's father is killed and the prince's wits begin to unravel into an unquenchable quest for vengeance.
Unlike the original drama, where Ophelia was known as an innocent, pure, typical weak female character. A tragic figure in a tragic play. In Ophelia (2018), she is now the role with the strongest characterization. Strong, as in her stronger personality and the way her character is told. In this version of Hamlet, she is not the helpless girl driven to madness and likely drown herself by a lover’s rejection.
The film presents many of the flaws common to recent historical dramas, such as canned childhood montages and unnuanced conflicts of patriarchy.
As I have mentioned, this movie, in my opinion, tends to overemphasize the independence of women, non-befitting it’s own spatial setting. And this movie's liberal worldview, which serves as its main garnish, comes out as being too forced. Like, for example: Every chance she gets, Ophelia will bring up women's rights. On the other hand, Hamlet frequently expresses his “retarded” thoughts about women and does so each time he sees Ophelia. I'm sure his acting out was a result of his unstable mother. Being a female myself, it’s not like that I'm opposed to that idea. Those parts are weird to watch due to the poor execution, though. What a pity, bad execution makes those scenes disastrous — bizarre to look at.
Although this emancipation is not perfectly carried out, the movie is nonetheless very pleasant and, despite its imperfections, Ophelia (2018) poses several intriguing story-related issues. While you're watching, the characters look more hollow and lackluster, and the teenage romance seems to be turning the show into a soap opera.
Daisy Ridley's performance holds the film together in moments when the story gets unsettled. She plays Ophelia with just the right mix of spontaneity and power, certainly stabilizing the volatile script. If her acting was not that good, this movie could have been a complete waste of time.
When it finally reaches the finale, the ending quickly became my most favourite scene in the entire film. It was an epic scene, in my opinion. I like where after Hamlet died after his sword duel with Laertes, Ophelia's brother. Seeing her son's death right before her eyes, Gertrude, who was filled with grief and rage, spontaneously stabbed Claudius in the heart. Not long after, Laertes also fell. And when the Norwegian troops came to invade, the war quickly ensued, soon many corpses lay strewn. Until finally, only Gertrude who then drank poison was left.
Beyond that, however, there is one aspect of Ophelia (2018) that I can definitely praise about: the soundtracks. This movie's soundtracks are incredibly melodic and ear-pleasing. Absolutely worth to listen. You can listen to the songs through the music streaming program, anytime, anywhere.
Ultimately, Ophelia (2018) is still an enjoyable movie to watch while relaxing in your free time. This movie isn't for you if you're a big critic of difference and uniqueness. Nor if you’re a fan of histories like me. Nonetheless, do watch it while enjoying the beautiful scenery, story, and music in every way!