The large downwards crane shot makes our eye go directly to the center, an important aspect in a theatrical performance whose success hinges on the characters paying attention. When we are introduced to the set it actually proves to be a set within a set, constructed in the throne room at Elsinore. The stage takes up the largest blank space in the shot. What else does one do with a play but observe?įramed on either side by the aisles and staircase, we see the audience almost blending in with the scenery, bedecked in red and white save for Hamlet and the cronies Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Let’s break the frame down like we did with Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel: Also known as a mise en abyme, the ‘play within a play’ plot is a good narrative technique to peer into character’s psychological states due to its often referential nature to the larger story’s plot. In performances of Hamlet past and present, the play is usually presented as a psychological gambit, a way for the prince of Denmark to suss out his uncle’s intent in open court. When we last left Elsinore, Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh) had caught onto his uncle Claudius’ (Derek Jacobi) plot to usurp the throne from his murdered brother, and conspired with a visiting troupe of actors to form a play within a play to reveal Claudius’ guilt.
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