Film: "Ophelia"
In this dynamic reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the women (Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts) take center stage.
Beautiful and intelligent, Ophelia soon captures the attention of the handsome Prince Hamlet (George MacKay) and a forbidden love blossoms. But lust and betrayal are tearing Elsinore Castle apart from within, as Claudius (Clive Owen) jealously guards the throne against his revenge-obsessed nephew. Caught in the middle, Ophelia must decide between her true love or her own life in order to protect a very dangerous secret.
Ridley (Rey, Star Wars) delivers a strong performance as the willful, clever title character, and Watts is riveting in a dual role as the vain queen and her newly invented older sister Mechtild, the local witch who supplies the castle with poisons and questionable advice. Although knowledge of the play will add another layer of appreciation, familiarity with the story is in no way a prerequisite for enjoying a work so ripe with flirtatious banter, intrigue, murder and endless illicit goings-on. D: Claire McCarthy, USA/UK, 2019
