The movie begins with the iconic image of the helpless, doomed mad girl, drowning while floating in the river. But, in voiceover from actress Daisy Ridley, the Ophelia of this film tells us we'll hear a different story: her story. Helped by a smart script and a great ensemble, Ophelia reimagines Shakespeare's Hamlet to tell the story of the misunderstood love interest who became a casualty to patriarchal strife. Though it's no work of artistic genius, the film works hard to make a case for its heroine, allowing her intelligence, gumption, and wit to give her the agency to change Denmark, but to escape the slaughter unscathed.
Anyone who finds Hamlet (the character) dramatically inert will be happy to know this story moves along at a faster pace, thanks to the agency exhibited by Ophelia. The film begins with the young girl making a witty first impression on Queen Gertrude, who is impressed enough to grant the child a place in her entourage. In a screenplay that will invariably be scrutinized next to Shakespeare's original language -- of which this film shares none -- it's pretty remarkable that writer Semi Chellas didn't even try to piggyback, instead crafting a tone and rhythm all her own. This dialogue is riddled with wordplay but keeps itself familiar and relevant, as if determined to empower young literary minds when screened in high school English classes.
But be warned that this is not a simple retelling from a different perspective. This story includes multiple episodes utterly absent from Hamlet, though arguably they indicate an odd attempt to contextualize this tale within a nonexistent Shakespearean fictional universe. The big change comes in the form of a witch, played by Naomi Watts, for whom Ophelia is courier of a magic potion for Queen Gertrude (also Naomi Watts); it seems the queen is so desperate to hang on to her own youth and beauty that she will resort to magic and, yes, the love of a husband's brother in order to maintain it. This complication of her character could be read as making her more complicit in the rottenness of Elsinore. Magic mirror on the wall, and so forth.
While Ophelia and Gertrude are stealing our attention, it's important to note that Hamlet and Claudius have important -- and importantly diminished -- roles as well. Claudius is veritably creepy here, clearly dangerous and wicked, whereas the original flirts with his ambiguity for the play's first two acts. Hamlet, though, is a dutiful and often romanticized character, and their affair turns into a sort of Danish Romeo and Juliet situation; he effectively sacrifices himself to cleanse the castle, while Ophelia escapes the madness alone and finally free. They plan their takedown of Elsinore early on, making even Hamlet's nunnery speech into a coded plea for her to escape while she can. In rewritten moments like this, the film especially shines.
And even if you're not here for the gendered politics (shame on you!), the film boasts enough eye-popping, sumptuous costume drama to keep you enthralled. Plus, we've got some gorgeous location cinematography and sound mixing that bring a haunting duality to the warm, sunlit outdoors and the echoing, chilly castle interior. There's not much not to like about all this, though I found myself wanting a bit more of just about everything.
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