elaby | Why I love Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet

Watching Hamlet now, as I can't draw and watch subtitles at the same time.

Reasons why this movie makes me a very happy little fangirl:

- Hamlet, very subtly, touches Horatio's face when they first meet
- Laertes is actually jovial when with his family, and gives the impression that he could even be a little silly with Ophelia sometimes
- Laertes gives his sister this great "Oh god, here comes Dad" look when Polonius approaches
- You can see the doting adoration whenever Laertes looks at Ophelia
- Polonius is absolutely villainous to Ophelia. The pointy devil-horn eyebrows don't hurt either
- Hamlet and Horatio = so grabby
- Mister Down-to-Earth Horatio has the greatest OMGWTF reaction ever when the ghost first says "swear!"
- Gerard Depardieu, playing Reynaldo, gives Polonius the best "You are SUCH a loser, but you're paying me lots so I don't care" looks over the top of his cigar
- Hamlet ranting in fast forward about his own inability to act is way too funny
- Let me reiterate about Hamlet and Horatio's grabbiness
- Straightjacket!Ophelia = win.
- Poor Horatio is delegated to running around the castle after unhinged women in straightjackets while Hamlet is away
- I never noticed this before, but Horatio lets Ophelia go into see Laertes when he comes back. Her nurse was about to stop her.
- Gertrude is so wonderfully vapid, and so good at telling people horrible things while obviously not caring at all
- Laertes rips my fucking heart out
- And throws a Bible at Hamlet's head from Ophelia's grave. Best most-likely-ad-libbed use of props ever.
- Hamlet shoves Horatio an awful lot for somebody who's supposed to be his best friend. But at least the shoving is usually preceded by touching.
- Horatio's desperately worried expression for most of the last half of the movie

Have given up on using Deepest Sender as an LJ client, as it doesn't process html. Or I haven't figured out how to make it do so.