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A Perfectly Fine Production, But O That Shrug!

posted 14 years ago by NYKensington
14 replies | jump to latest

The firs time I saw Patrick Stewart do that shrug before he drinks the poison, I was really taken aback. It's such a goofy looking choice, and if it weren't Patrick Stewart, I'd dare call it bad acting.

But Patrick Stewart isn't a bad actor, and I've little fault with anything else he does in the show (aside, perhaps, from the head shake after the play which also looked a little anvil on the head-ish) so I cannot merely dismiss him.

The shrug is a bold choice, and Patrick Stewart is a good actor, so what the heck does it mean? I think maybe it's a bit childish, and murdering your brother in order to take his wife is a bit childish, too, so perhaps it's a glimpse into the fact that Claudius isn't well in the head.

[–] patty1 14 years ago

"NYKensington," there's a short thread about that shrug on these forums:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1449175/board/flat/154467899

I saw the comment by Patrick Stewart in the behind-the-scenes segments that were shown on PBS after the movie itself ended. Apparently those segments were from the DVD extras, so I look forward to seeing all of them when I get that.

My theory is that it meant, "Oh well, the jig is up. Everyone now knows that I killed Old Hamlet and arranged the murder of Young Hamlet. At the very least, I'm going to lose the throne and spend the rest of my life in prison. More likely, I'll be put to death. So what the heck, I might as well get it over with."

Patty

[–] NYKensington 14 years ago

That sounds plausible, too, but it looks so cavalier that you'd think he was doing something far less drastic than drinking poison.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] NYKensington 14 years ago

Which is funny, really, considering that film reads the tiniest of gestures whilst a stage usually needs things to be larger.

In my head, I can see how a shrug, under the circumstances, can work. It just looks too casual in the film. It's not that far removed from Wile E. Coyote hanging suspended right before his body reacts to gravity.

[–] patty1 14 years ago

It did look rather flip, didn't it? It didn't make me laugh, but it did strike me as out of place. Perhaps if he had toned it down for the camera, it would have played better for me.

But on the whole, I am loving this production! I finished rewatching it on the PBS website earlier today (slow times at the client company I've been hanging out at recently...), and am even at this moment enjoying a rebroadcast on one of my local PBS stations. I need to get out my Branagh DVD soon and compare a few scenes to see how they were interpreted differently in the two productions.

Patty

[–] mec98 13 years ago

YES!!! The first time I saw this I was shocked by the shrug. I was so engrossed in the performances, and the shrug came out of nowhere. Considering my prior knowledge that Stewart won the Olivier Award for this role, perhaps my expectations were set too high.

On the other hand, I think the rushing of the finale in general might have played a part in this. The most climactic moment of the entire work was condensed down to TEN minutes! It seemed to me like the filmmakers ran out of time and/or money and just had to end things. The entire finale came off anti-climactic for me. I really do wish they'd drawn it out.

Lastly, this was adapted from a stage production, and I can see how a shrug would be the best way to communicate what Stewart was trying to say to an audience of hundreds, but I agree with ixthvs that a slight eyebrow raise would have been enough for the screen.

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Was today really necessary?

[–] ixthvs 14 years ago

Stewart explains his choice, without any tinge or need of self-justification, in the "Making of..." doc on the DVD. Clearly, it's a decision to cease the charade of innocence at a point where Claudius's world has already fallen around him. What does he have to live for? The action significantly deepens the complexity of the king's character, harkening back to his speech of vestigial conscience and, arguably, representing a relatively noble final decision. The epitaph of the late Thane of Cawdor in The Scottish Play could reasonably be applied to Claudius: "Nothing in his life became him like the leaving of it." Also, he is already poisoned from the tainted foil; drinking a larger dose might hasten the gruesome death throes. I found the move a bit surprising, but I was struck more by its inspiration (daring?) than any intrusiveness. Still, it may perhaps be a bit large for the screen. A slight raise of the eyebrows might have been sufficient.

[–] weblore_01 14 years ago

I'm sure he has his reason why he thinks it works. He said he did anyway. But I agree it does look silly. It takes me out of the depth of the scene. Here's Hamlet at the extent of his revenge, and instead of what could have been done more believably Claudius shrugs in an overly hammy gesture. Then he goes and dies in a way more befitting his acting skill. In that way, the shrug itself seems cheap and cringe-worthy. As much as I love this production I just can't think of anyway to justify that one movement.

[–] ghtx 14 years ago

But it's already such a hammy moment anyway. Everyone dies, Hamlet and Laertes inexplicably make up, Horatio eulogizes, Fortinbras swoops in (though that's omitted in this version). A shrug is among the least silly things happening in that scene.

[–] rosepitseleh 14 years ago

I did not feel this was as bad as you seem to make it out. It wasn't that intrusive or goofy, just a final act of resignation, in my opinion. It wasn't as goofy as Tennant flopping down on the ground every five minutes, something that had me laughing aloud by the end when he finally collapses from the poison because it seemed so silly by then. Talk about ruining the mood of the scene.

[–] RichN36 14 years ago

Let's see you have a Sword pointed at your heart, You been cut by the Poison Tip of said Sword, and being Forced to drink from the Poison Cup. Its more of a What the Heck kind of Shrug Damn if I do Damn if I don't. I thought it worked.

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A: It varies from person to person.
"Futurama"

[–] emergencyCALL_911 14 years ago

It wasn't as goofy as Tennant flopping down on the ground every five minutes, something that had me laughing aloud by the end when he finally collapses from the poison because it seemed so silly by then. Talk about ruining the mood of the scene.

Really? I liked the flopping down on the ground.

And I didn't think it ruined the scene at the end at all. I didn't even think about it.

In fact, Tennant drew me into the character of Hamlet so much that I didn't even think "Something's inhibiting his enzymes" or "come on, detox!" when he was dying from being poisoned, which really surprised me when I thought about it afterwards. In fact he drew me in so much and so quickly that the only time I thought of Doctor Who at all was right at the beginning when he said "but break my heart". I thought "Both or just one of them?" :D

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[–] mec98 13 years ago

"In fact he drew me in so much and so quickly that the only time I thought of Doctor Who at all was right at the beginning when he said "but break my heart". I thought "Both or just one of them?" :D"

LOL! That never even occurred to me! The only time that Doctor Who crossed my mind was during "To be or not to be" when he says, "Who can bear the whips and scorns of time?" I couldn't help thinking, "A Time Lord! Duh!" :-P

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Was today really necessary?

[–] ParanoiaPoliticianDiva77 12 years ago

The only time I thought of Doctor Who was when he said "The play's the thing", as he said that in a Doctor Who episode, so it was a familiar sound

It's never over, all my blood for the sweetness of his laughter