Kenneth Brannagh's nowt taken out Hamlet is an achievement. It is an achievement to last the 4 hours without parts of your anatomy going numb. It is also an achievement to be able to discern all of the Shakespearean dialogue when the background music swells to such a level that it drown everything else out. And it is an achievement to have crafted such a visually rich and well executed portrayal of Shakespeare's most famed.
The tale of young Hamlet's procrastination in avenging his Father's murder should be familiar to all but the glorious prose that the play contains is little more than soundbites to most. Thus Brannagh's decision to retain the entire text must be lauded from the point of view of cultural enrichment at the very least.
The cast is thesped to the hilt in all areas but the array of famous faces in minor parts rarely grates, apart from a hyperactive cameo by Robin Williams who tries to compensate for his lack of screen time but being 5 times as bumbling as the part requires. At least we are spared memories of John Wayne's hideously embarrassing appearance in The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Though the supporting cast all deserve praise, especially Richard Briers excellent comic performance as the blundering Polonius, this is Brannagh's show throughout. His Hamlet is shown as cocky and swaggering with a confidence to match his clear intelligence when he is in his stride. THough this often leads to some over the top mugging as the young Dane taunts those who try to play him, it adds energy and lightness to the epic film.
The soliloquies are rendered as interesting set pieces, drawing subtexts from the prose without any over-bearing revisionism. How people react to the film will probably depend on their knowledge of Shakespeare. Beginners may find this an overly long tourist ad for the beauties of Blenheim Palace, while old hands will wallow in the joys of the Bard's unadulterated text. Both parties will claim the 4 hours were a "nice bit of culture".