Happy Friday to all! It HAS to be a great day because it’s now THE WEEKEND! So, as I was sitting watching Season 1 of “The Blacklist” (which so far, IS absolutely awesome), I found an email from another indie director, asking me if I might be willing to screen a Short Film he completed as part of a documentary currently in production at his film company, Ginger Beard Films, as it will be shown as part of the upcoming Katra Film Series in NYC on January 17th. So, I am honored to be approached unexpectedly again by the hand of the indie film world and therefore I give you….”The Speech-To Be Or Not To Be”
SEE THE TRAILER HERE
Imagined and brought to life by writer/director Joe McClean, we trade the lands of Denmark for the vast openness of the American West and here happen upon the distraught, disheveled Prince Hamlet (in this modern form played by Barry Finnegan) stumbling his way amidst the cacti and barren sands. Plagued by the ghostly image of his murdered father (Chas Mitchell), he delivers the famous “To Be, Or Not To Be” soliloquy while attempting to end his suffering permanently. Also vexing him are the random images of his father’s killer, Claudius (T.R. Shields, III), his mother Gertrude (Leslee Scallon), his precious Ophelia (Tracy Clifton), Polonius (Mark Rimer), counsellor to the new King, and Polonius’ son, Laertes (Chris Ciccarelli). With no sense of reason on true, deep contemplation, he rages and bemoans the dire hopelessness of his situation, even as fate intervenes to ultimately cause him to realize it is time for action and to right a grievous wrong.
Folks….all of this occurs in just under 8 minutes, as the speech is rendered in its entirety, but in this updated, turn of the century look and feel. And it is pulled off marvelously. For all the interpretations of this material, McClean, I felt, does us one better by ONLY focusing on THIS speech in itself, but in a FRESH and emotive way. And it IS a speech from the edge of Hamlet’s sanity… a picture of true despair, anger, confusion, and betrayal, taking us away from the traditional Shakespearean experience and making this its own vision of Hamlet’s dilemma. The starkness of the desert setting only serves to add to the desolation Hamlet has in his heart during the speech, and his other personal effects including a bottle of alcohol and a large gun bring the desperation to a peak, leading to that defining moment where he breaks, but IN that breaking, sees the path he must take. Finnegan was impressive to me in his performance, and I felt he didn’t OVER emote, as sometimes can happen during epic speeches. He accurately portrayed a man on the brink of total mindlessness. A solid, original musical score by Michael Teoli also aided on the overall ambiance of the film. I hope people give this a chance, because at its core is a deeper and unique take on the entire concept of Hamlet’s story and the internal conflict he faced in a more realistic approach to it such as this.
The film will be screened at The Katra Film Series January 17th at the Poet’s Den Gallery and Theater in NYC.
For more about Joe McClean, please seek him out in the following ways:
As always, this is all for YOUR consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
