Jeri Jacquin
Coming to theatres from director Aneil Karia, writer Michael Lesslie, William Shakespeare, and Vertical is the story of a man and the story of his family in HALMET.
Arriving in London, Prince Hamlet (Riz Ahmed) has returned home to attend his father, the King’s, funeral. His sadness becomes complicated when his uncle Claudius (Art Malik) announces the marriage to Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude (Sheeba Chaddha). Having difficulty with the twisted news, friend Laertes (Joe Alwyn) decides to take Hamlet out for a night on the town for drinks and loud music.
Leaving the party having drunk too much, Hamlet sees the ghost of his father, who wants revenge. Not only for his death, but also for the loss of the King’s wife and crown. Hamlet is overcome with what he learns and turns to Ophelia (Morfydd Clark) with what he learned. Determined to discover the truth, Hamlet begins to look for anything to prove his case.
Then, the idea comes that the new King and his mother cannot deny. When it all goes wrong, Hamlet goes down the path of destruction that leaves no one safe in the wake.
Ahmed, as Hamlet, is a man who not only deals with death but betrayal, which causes a traumatic response to everyone around him. Feeling as if no one understands his feelings, the intensity of that betrayal might be warranted in some cases, but it affects others as well. I have to say, Ahmed is absolutely stunning and incredible as Hamlet. Completely riveting and intense to watch, his performance is so strong that, for me, he is added to my list of the best actors to portray Hamlet, following Laurence Olivier and Richard Burton. Ahmed joins the more modern take alongside Ethan Hawke’s. That being said, Ahmed’s takes the lead for a modern and diverse take. So well done!
Malik, as Claudius, is a man who has his own plan and doesn’t care who he has to make disappear if they get in his way. The one thing about Malik as an actor is that he can play a good guy just as wonderfully as he can a bad guy. Here, he is a man who smiles to your face while having someone else shove a dagger in your back. Chaddha as Gertrude is a woman who is led astray and doesn’t see the world around her as it truly is. She loves her son but is afraid for him in all the wrong ways. A wonderful performance.
Clark, as Ophelia, is a young woman who can’t understand what is happening to the man she loves. Then again, let’s give her a little credit. Hamlet does give off spooky vibes and doesn’t make his feelings clear until those feelings turn ugly. Clark’s portrayal is a modern woman with a not-so-modern heartbreak. Alwyn, as Laertes is a friend, and although Hamlet’s friend, seems to be following what others want. I think the hardest scene is the final scene between Laertes and Hamlet. It is heartbreaking in friendship and intense in betrayal. This is Alwyn’s second Shakespeare film, as he portrayed Bartholomew in the 2025 film HAMNET.
Shout out to Timothy Spall as Polonius, a sneaky character who reminded me of Wormtail. Also, Avijit Dutt as Hamlet’s father’s ghost. His moments on the screen bring out such a reaction from Ahmed’s Hamlet, and it is so emotional.
Other cast include Eben Figueiredo as Marcellus, Krish Misra as Osric, and Kash Ahmad as Reynaldo.
Vertical is a global independent distributor that offers a unique wealth of experience minus the studio costs. Films such as MY MOTHER’S WEDDING, I DON’T UNDERSTAND YOU, FIGHT OR FLIGHT, and IN THE LOST LANDS are only a few of the films the studio has brought forward. For more, please visit www.vert-ent.com.
HAMLET premiered at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival, 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, the BFI London Film Festival, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Director Aneil says of the film, “I read this adaptation and also went back to the original and realized that it spoke to a kind of filmmaking I thrive on – singular stories of humans that are unravelling. Hamlet is the ultimate version of that. Here is a person who is grieving and experiencing something wild and almost supernatural. The more I spent with the text, the more I realized this could actually be a very singular psychological portrait of a man in freefall. That made it very accessible and exciting for me.”
Ahmed says of HAMLET and working with writer Mike Lesslie, “I told Mike I wanted to base this Hamlet around a British Asian community. The feeling of being an outsider felt so present to me, and to all of us, so I wanted to bring it to life with a very certain specificity. It’s a theme that is very alive for immigrant communities – you have to make a lot of compromises to climb the ladder.”
HAMLET is a modern take on a classic yet delivers Shakespeare with the loyalty of the 1600s. The film is visually stunning, with music that adds another layer of storytelling with the already diverse cast front and center. It is an amazing combination that lends to the modern take on a classic story.
Ahmed carries the film from beginning to end and, as I said, has set himself up to be a memorable Hamlet. The entire film is beautiful, full of raw visceral emotions, and for anyone who adores the words of Shakespeare as much as I do, it is an amazing experience. The rest of the cast's reactions to Hamlet are equally jaw-dropping and adds to the richness of Ahmed’s performance. This is a must-see for this year!
In the end – there is a fine line between love and betrayal!
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