Qhis evening, at 21.20 on Canale 5will be broadcast on the first tv Ophelia – Love and deatha film that reinterprets the very famous Hamlet by William Shakespeare in an unedited key. Shifting the focus no longer on the sad Prince of Denmark but on the tragic story of his betrothed played by the heroine of Star Wars Daisy Ridley.
Ophelia – Love and deaththe plot of the movie
In Elsinore Castle, Denmark, the young Ophelia (Daisy Ridley) is a lady-in-waiting of Queen Gertrude (Naomi Watts)although he does not have noble origins as his father, Polonius, is a simple councilor. When Prince Hamlet (Geroge MacKay), son of Gertrude, returns to the castle, he begins courting Ophelia but without much success since the return to studies prevents him from starting a relationship with her. Meanwhile, Claudius (Clive Owen), brother of the king, seduces Gertrude and Ophelia, unseen, sees them. That same evening Ophelia finds herself witnessing a furious quarrel between the king and the queen. The girl follows Gertrude who is going to an appointment with Claudio and she, having arrived on the ramparts of the castle, does not find the queen there but she thinks she sees a hooded ghost.
The following morning the king is found dead, apparently from a snake bite. Claudius succeeds him to the throne by marrying Gertrudewhile the young Hamlet, having returned home furious, refuses to accept his uncle’s position and begins to suspect a conspiracy against him. The prince finds comfort in Ophelia’s company, despite the rumors of the palace and the recommendations of her brother Laertes. In great secrecy, the two decide to get married. The morning after the wedding, Ophelia discovers that the ghost she had seen on the walls was Claudius, who in turn discovers his nephew’s wedding and decides to use it to her advantage to see if Hamlet is insane or acting. .
Daisy Ridley and George MacKay in a scene from “Ophelia – Love and Death”. (Courtesy IFC FILMS)
A female reading of the famous Hamlet
Screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s literary drama, Ophelia – Love and death was born by the will of the American writer Lisa Klein, famous for the novel Lady Macbeth’s Daughter. Books that, with contempt of danger, choose female characters from the Shakespearean universe as protagonistsrecounting the author’s great works from their unpublished point of view. In fact, Ophelia is certainly not a central character in Hamlet; yet her figure is among the most discussed and loved, also thanks to many pictorial works that were inspired by the girl. As the famous pre-Raphaelite painting by John Everatt Millais who paints her among the water lilies of a stream while she lets herself be carried away by the current, now in the throes of madness.
“Slave” of a secular representation that sees her as fragile, mentally ill and without a strong personality, the film directed by Claire McCarthy therefore wants to give a new light to a character who has almost always remained in the background. It is no coincidence that the film was conceived and made at the dawn of #metoo, thus giving the tragic story of Ofelia a feminist patina and therefore portraying her as a rebellious, decisive and outspoken character. Characteristics that Daisy Ridley embodies very well. Even the character of Queen Gertrude, which has always been strongly negative, acquires new nuances, also thanks to the interpretation of Naomi Watts. The result? A much more complex woman than the not exactly flattering readings of the past.
Overall, however, apart from the fascination for a modern reinterpretation, Ophelia – Love and death struggles to juggle the many subplots. Which include murders, family relationships, court intrigues and tormented love affairs. Like the one between Ophelia and Hamlet which is almost in the background. Thus the film almost distorts Shakespearean concepts, leaving the male figures too much in the background and over-hyping her proto-feminist intentions. The good interpretations remain, the beautiful scenographic pasts, some of them elegant and refined stylistic choices and a couple of aesthetically striking sequences. Like that of the masked ball where all the protagonists will meet.
Actress Daisy Ridley. (Getty Images)
Daisy Ridley, da Star Wars to Shakespeare
English actress born in London in 1992, Daisy Ridley is the third daughter of a photographer and a banker. Model student and bartender to round off, the future star in April 2014 is announced to the whole world as the future protagonist of the reboot trilogy of Star Wars. Although she is a total stranger, with few bit parts behind her, JJ Abrams (director of the new series) strongly wants her in the role of Rey. Young apprentice who will be trained by Luke and Leia Skywalker to reconstitute the Jedi order and that he will have to fight against the dreaded Kylo Ren.
After the global success of the first chapter of the new trilogy (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), for Daisy the doors of other great productions open wide such as Murder on the Orient Express. And right on that set she meets her future husband Tom Batemanactor famous for the series Da Vinci’ Demons and with whom she will marry in secret in 2021. In the near future, we will see her again as a writer and star of a film written together with her husband by title Magpie while in a few months the film will be available on Disney+ Young Woman and the Sea. Where does he interpret the swimmer Gertrude Ederle, famous in the 1920s for being the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
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