Hamlet

This version of Hamlet is raw in its emotion, incredibly natural in its performances, and heartbreaking in its conclusion. Even after centuries of retellings, the story still cuts deep, and Aneil Karia’s version proves that its power has not diminished. At the center of it all is Riz Ahmed, whose incredibly raw performance ensures this adaptation will be remembered.

This Hamlet sticks to the narrative essentials to produce a terse, pitiless retelling.

Karia has Ahmed’s impassioned performance, one of his best, a committed and talented cast, often stunning visuals from director of photography Stuart Bentley, as well as his own imaginative staging to captivate the viewer.

Thanks to Ahmed and Karia’s creative collaboration, this new version of a man caught between expectation and collapse, tradition and insurgency, love and fury will hopefully find its way to a new generation that has never experienced Shakespeare’s timeless story before.

Riz Ahmed's fiery turn and a bold South Asian lens make this Hamlet compelling, even if uneven.

At the end of the day, it’s not really Hamlet, it’s something new that uses the words from Hamlet. But at its best, it’ll still hit you with all the force of Shakespeare's existential masterpiece.

Karia’s attempts to make the play cinematic work well at times.