Review of Hamlet on Broadway, starring Jude Law, 2010

Mr. Brantley’s sullied perception does not do justice to Jude Law’s performance in Hamlet.  Relying on his own Cliff Note’s version of what Hamlet should be, and who the character should be, Mr. Brantley and his written opinion were far from what I saw on stage on Nov. 22, 2009.

Either Mr. Brantley had terrible seats when viewing the show in October, or either his scathing review of Mr. Law led to an excellent performance in November.  Mr. Law used nuance to depict the introspection of Hamlet. This “rakish leading man of film” articulated the lines with a fusion of verbal and kinetic synchronicity that emoted Hamlet’s inner struggle almost to perfection.  Quite frankly, he was able to carry the play.  To give Mr. Brantley the benefit of the doubt, perhaps Law’s mirror to life cast a weak reflection early in the play’s run only because the flaw in the play was the other actors’ ability to match and respond to Law’s subtleties. Even the royal court’s character portrayals were flat.  It was Law who kept the plot focused, even when the dialogue was paced at an allegro clip.  Law was able to portray Hamlet not so much as a Freudian weakling, but rather as a royal disgusted to have to deal with Denmark’s courtly petty deceit and staleness.

Once I was able to get past Claudius’s Leno-esque profile, I could begin to see this character come to life. Flat to begin with, Kevin R. McNally redeemed his performance in his prayer soliloquy.  Geraldine James finely portrayed Gertrude’s regality, but the delivery of her lines paralleled a Kennebunkport matriarch’s hostessing skills…a little to frilly and shallow.  Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ophelia was developing, but the director’s choices in her mad songs left us without a full understanding of Ophelia’s angst. That, coupled with her impeccably coiffed beauty in the scene left us without knowing her state of trauma. Staging, sound effects, and set design were not, Mr. Brantley, overblown beyond Shakespeare’s original intent, but where designed more as a chronicle of our times.  And that towering stage worked well to bring the characters down to crawling between heaven and earth.

Yet, it was Law, his Hamlet, who was able to stand tall.  It was Law, who was able to bring pregnant words to life.  It was Law who was able to depict a believeable Hamlet, both in age and in dignity.  I admit it, this teacher of Hamlet for the past 21 years stood outside the stage door seeking an autograph from Jude Law, not because I was star-struck, but because I was inspired. If Law can mesmerize and enthrall a theater full of teenagers and, in your words, Mr. Brantley, ‘captivate Broadway theatergoers who wouldn’t normally attend productions of Shakespeare,” then indeed, just as I muttered to Jude Law as he signed my playbill, “I hope he wins the Tony!”