Riz Ahmed is electrifying in this bold reinvention of the Bard’s immortal tragedy. Set in present-day London’s South Asian community, director Aneil Karia’s fierce, full-blooded approach brings kinetic visual energy and focus to every frame while retaining Shakespeare’s original text. This is the first cinematic adaptation of Hamlet with a predominantly non-white cast.
Elsinore is transplanted to an estate in the English countryside eroding from paranoia and patriarchal dominance. Morfydd Clark, as Ophelia; Art Malik, as Claudius; and Sheeba Chaddha, as a deeply conflicted Gertrude all bring nuance and vibrancy to their striking reinterpretations. But it’s Ahmed’s riveting lead turn that captivates: cerebral, wounded, and strikingly modern. His long-standing dream to take on this role, in partnership with Karia (the two won an Oscar together for Best Live Action Short for The Long Goodbye), results in a performance that feels both thoroughly classical and bracingly new.