Zeffirelli I do like for his sumptuous style and how directs actors(and singers), but he does bring forth ideas that are interesting in hindsight but don't do very well in terms of the motivations of the characters, Orphelia and Claudius in particular really suffer from this, and like his Jane Eyre it does get pedestrian in places. On the other hand, while it is a long play with much complexity and so forth(therefore a slow unfolding pace is necessary) there are some scenes that do come about as too drawn-out and laborious. The acting honours go to Glenn Close, whose Gertrude is beautifully elegant, expressive and sincere.
He is perhaps too old for the role(but understandably as other reviewers have pointed out) and Branagh and Olivier conveyed Hamlet's tragedy more convincingly but coming from a non-fan of Gibson this is not a bad performance at all. Mel Gibson was better than expected, initially it does scream disaster but actually he is charismatic and delivers his lines with meaning. Ian Holm is a very effective Polonious, the character is creepier than one would expect but it proved to be an interesting touch. The script is condensed, but still is very powerful and moving when needed. The music is haunting and the sound effects really enhance the mood. It does have some undeniably good points, it is very well made with very evocative scenery, beautiful atmospheric lighting, sumptuous costuming and cinematography that is moody yet shimmering.
While this 1990 film is far from terrible, it is the weakest for me of the three Hamlet films I've seen- I loved Branagh's and especially Olivier's- and possibly Zeffirelli's weakest Shakespeare adaptation also. I saw this film as I love the play and I do like Franco Zeffirelli(especially for his opera films like La Traviata). Reviewed by TheLittleSongbird 6 / 10 Wanted to like it but didn't really work for me.
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