The
many several Ophelias
in
Hamlet
Consider
Ophelia. In her few scenes she is told sternly by her brother and father to
stay away from Hamlet, she is upset and scared by Hamlet’s odd behaviour,
confused and heart-broken over Hamlet’s declaration that he loved her once but
never loved her, uncomfortable with Hamlet’s raunchy cheerfulness at the play,
driven mad by her father’s death (or perhaps the loss of and betrayal by
Hamlet) and finally, offstage her death, possibly suicide. Does this
progression make her a whinging wimp? A deeply sensitive person? A rebellious
young woman, beaten down by repression and betrayal? A strong young woman
clever enough to escape an unbearable life?
In
this essay I will not answer these questions, but I will study the portrayals
of Ophelia in four different film versions, played by four different actors.
1990
Director:
Kevin Kline
Hamlet:
Kevin Kline
Ophelia: Diane Venora
In
Ophelia’s first appearance Venora plays her as just a bit resentful towards her
brother’s advice. She talks back but affectionately. She speaks of Hamlet
happily to Laertes, then firmly and earnestly to her father. She only agrees
doubtfully to obey her father’s orders to avoid Hamlet.
In
Ophelia’s next scene, Venora describes Hamlet’s odd behaviour emotionally and
convincingly, but afterward she exits flittingly and girlishly which sadly
gives a shallow impression of the character she had been developing.
She
makes up for it in the confrontation with Hamlet. It’s very strongly done, and
Verona already reveals Ophelia’s approaching madness. The scene with Hamlet at
the theatre is unremarkable but her final scenes are superb. Verona plays mad
Ophelia with heartrending passion, grief, confusion – is she grieving the loss
of her father only, or of Hamlet as well? Her performance brought tears to my
eyes.
2001
Director: Peter Brook
Hamlet: Adrian Lester
Ophelia: Shantala Shivaligappa
This
version of Hamlet is truly excellent, and Adrian Lester is one of the
top three Hamlets I’ve seen. Sadly, Shivaligappa is not given the same chance
to shine. Her whole first scene with Laertes and Polonius is cut, thereby
eliminating an opportunity to develop Ophelia’s character. The monolog about Hamlet’s upsetting
behaviour is well done by Shivaligappa but the nunnery dialog with Hamlet is
low-key and Ophelia’s ensuing monolog is shortened, once again robbing
Shivaligappa of a chance to fill out her role. In the madness scenes she is
very subdued and hardly seems mad at all.
And maybe
that’s the whole point. Now that I think about it, that could be exactly what
Brook was aiming for. In that case, Shivaligappa does an admirable job and I
think I just decided that she is one of the best Ophelias.
2009
Director: Gregor Doran
Hamlet: David Tennant
Ophelia: Mariah Gale
Almost a perfect film production of Hamlet;
there is only one slight jarring aspect. I just can’t quite accept Mariah Gale
as Ophelia. Why? I don’t know. I like her teen-age clothing in her first scene
with Laertes and Polonius. She doesn’t take her brother so seriously and
answers him like a teasing little sister. Towards her father she’s quiet and
faintly resentful. Good. Well done. But when she reports about Hamlet’s strange
behaviour, she becomes weepy and breathless. In the ‘Get thee to a nunnery’
scene she is not only weepy but casts her eyes to the heavens. The theatre
scene is hard to do, and I have no objection to Gale’s interpretation. She does
the madness scenes well, although again she’s weepy. I feel very petty in
objecting to Gale here, she’s a good actor. But sadly, for me she gives the weakest
performance of these four.
1996
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Hamlet:
Kenneth Branagh
Ophelia:
Kate Winslet
After
seeing Kate Winslet in Titanic, I was almost allergic to her, and I was
not happy when I learnt that Branagh had chosen her to play Ophelia. I was
pleasantly surprised to find that my prejudice was unfair and have since come
to admire her acting greatly. However, I still can’t quite see her as Ophelia.
The
extra scenes Branagh has added, about which Shakespeare has other characters
describe or vaguely refer to, do not help Winslet portray Ophelia credibly.
Yes, they convince us that she and Hamlet did have loving sex, but Shakespeare
lets us assume that. Indeed, Branagh steers Winslet’s performance throughout by
presenting her in her madness in a straightjacket and helmet in a padded cell
and has her revert to childhood by singing in a a little girl voice. While
watching, it is very strong, and Winslet does indeed perform convincingly.
However, like other actors in the role she is weepy when she could have been
angry.
This
version of the play has affected me so strongly every time I’ve seen it that I’m
scarcely capable of analysing Winslet or anything else. As a whole it’s just
too good and its strengths are so enormous that I feel mean even pointing out
what I see as weaknesses.
Ophelia.
From lovesick teen-ager, lovingly (perhaps) oppressed by brother and father, to
observer of Hamlet’s madness, to madness herself. Shakespeare offers strong
material to interpret with plenty of room for interpretation. As yet, I have not seen a flawless
interpretation but these four, despite my pernickety approach, have done a
splendid job.
Shakespeare
calling – the book available here and other sites:
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