February film and TV

Film Grand Theft Hamlet I have never played a video game properly but I do love Hamlet and the idea of a mashup grabbed me. This film is ridiculous and often had me laughing out loud, but it is somehow beautiful and even moving in places. During lockdown, actors Sam and Mark had been playing Grand Theft Auto and came up with the idea of staging Hamlet within the GTA world. The result of the 16th century smashed into the 21st century virtual world is full of shocking violence but also great intelligence, wit and charm. The film documents the process using only footage from the game; they hold auditions, rehearse and then finally run a live performance. Moments of sublime beauty play out, whilst in the background, (or sometimes in the foreground) people are shot, or fight, or crash a blimp or a car. In the same way as Staged seemed sometimes to capture something profound in amongst the messiness and stupidity of huma...