Ophelia (2018 film)

Ophelia is a 2018 British-American romantic drama film directed by Claire McCarthy and written by Semi Chellas about the character of the same name from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Based on the novel by Lisa Klein, the film follows the story of Hamlet from Ophelia's perspective. It stars Daisy Ridley in the title role, alongside Naomi Watts, Clive Owen, George MacKay, Tom Felton and Devon Terrell.

Ophelia
Theatrical release poster
Directed byClaire McCarthy
Produced byDaniel Bobker
Sarah Curtis
Ehren Kruger
Paul Hanson
Screenplay bySemi Chellas
Based onHamlet
by William Shakespeare
Ophelia
by Lisa Klein
StarringDaisy Ridley
Naomi Watts
Clive Owen
George MacKay
Tom Felton
Devon Terrell
Music bySteven Price
CinematographyDenson Baker
Edited byLuke Dunkley
Production
companies
Covert Media
Bobker/Kruger
Bert Marcus Film
Fourthcoming Film
Stillking Films
Distributed byIFC Films (North America)[1]
Blue Finch Film Releasing (United Kingdom/Ireland)[2]
Release date
  • January 22, 2018 (2018-01-22) (Sundance)
  • June 28, 2019 (2019-06-28) (United States)
  • November 22, 2019 (2019-11-22) (United Kingdom)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
United States
Czech Republic
LanguageEnglish
Box office$224,410[3][4]

The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival[5], and had a limited theatrical run on June 28, 2019, followed by a VOD release on July 2, 2019 by IFC Films. Critical reception was mixed, although Ridley's performance received acclaim.

Plot

As the film begins, the mischievous, headstrong child Ophelia, low-born daughter of Polonius, a court fool, is brought to the royal court of Denmark by her father. At court, she catches the attention of Queen Gertrude (Watts), who offers her widower father the chance to have Ophelia become one of her ladies-in-waiting, to improve her education and deportment. As Ophelia grows older, she is mocked behind her back by the older ladies, but consoled by the continued favor of Gertrude.

After young Prince Hamlet (Mackay) returns from schooling in Wittenberg, he begins secretly courting Ophelia (Ridley). Meanwhile, Gertrude has an affair with Claudius (Owen), the brother of her husband, the king. She sends Ophelia to get a potion from her sister Mechtild (also played by Watts), who lives in isolation after having been accused of witchcraft. Later the king is killed, and for the new king the nobles elect Claudius rather than Prince Hamlet. Claudius marries Gertrude.

Hamlet secretly marries Ophelia. He vows to avenge his father's death and that they will leave that place. King Claudius sets Ophelia up as a trap to see if Hamlet loves her. However, prior to this, Ophelia had found poison in Claudius' coat, and she confesses this all to Hamlet while Claudius watches from afar. Ophelia tells Hamlet that they are being watched, so they pretend to have nothing to do with each other. Hamlet acts mad to deceive the onlookers, while quietly instructing Ophelia to escape to a nunnery where she will be safe. Hamlet puts on a play depicting the murder of his father; this enrages King Claudius who demands all the actors be killed. Hamlet draws his sword on the king, and the King declares treason. Hamlet finds a man hiding in his mother's bedchambers, and thinking it's Claudius, he kills the man, who turns out to be Ophelia's father Polonius (Mafham).

King Claudius learns about Hamlet and Ophelia's marriage and confronts her; during which she accuses him of being the one who accused Mechtild of witchcraft. The King is enraged and has Ophelia locked in the dungeon. She escapes and acts as if she has turned mad, so the Queen has mercy upon her. The Queen and her soldiers chase Ophelia to the river bank, where she takes a few drops of the witch's poison to appear dead, as the witch had done years before. In her mad performance in front of the court she had instructed Horatio (Terrell) to dig her up once she is buried. He does this and finds her alive. Ophelia flees, with the kingdom thinking she is dead. Ophelia returns to the witch seeking the antidote and reveals she knows it was the witch that helped King Claudius kill King Hamlet. The witch admits she has an undying love for him and cannot deny him what he wants.

Ophelia's brother Laertes (Felton) challenges Hamlet to a fight over the death of his father. King Claudius gives Laertes a poisoned sword for the fight. Ophelia flees to a nunnery, and tries to convince Hamlet to come with her, but he refuses. In the fight Hamlet and Laertes are both cut by the poisoned blade and die. In grief the Queen fatally stabs King Claudius, then commits suicide by poison. Moments later an enemy army invades, accompanied by Mechtild, and kills many members of the court.

The film ends with Ophelia living peacefully in exile, raising her and Hamlet's daughter.

Cast

Production

On May 4, 2016, it was announced that Daisy Ridley and Naomi Watts would star in the drama film Ophelia based on the character of same name by William Shakespeare, the film would be based on the novel by Lisa Klein which Claire McCarthy would direct based on the script by Semi Chellas.[6] Covert Media would finance the film, while Daniel Bobker and Ehren Kruger would produce the film along with Sarah Curtis.[6] Bert Marcus is also executive producing the film.[7]

Filming began in April 2017, with a first look image released in May.[8] After three months, principal production wrapped on July 6, 2017. Academy Award winning composer Steven Price signed on to compose the musical score.

Release

It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2018.[9] In February 2019, IFC Films acquired the US distribution rights to the film.[10] It was released on theaters at June 28, 2019.[11] Blue Finch Film later acquired the UK distribution rights on August 15, 2019, a month after its US release[2], and released it on November 22, 2019.[12]

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews, praising its art direction, production design, direction, and the performances, mostly Ridley and Watts, but criticizing the writing. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 60% based on 112 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads: "Flawed yet intriguing, Ophelia uses Hamlet as the starting point for a noble attempt to offer a misunderstood character long-overdue agency."[13] Metacritic gave it a score of 60 based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[14]

Additional reviews cited that the film is "moving, intoxicating, haunting: the most visually pleasurable film so far this year,"[15] and that it's "real entertainment," as "Daisy Ridley does first-rate work in the title role."[16] Other publications also praised Ridley citing that "Daisy Ridley may have been born to play these types of roles because Ophelia is strong and powerful, just like Rey,"[17] and she gives a "beautiful performance."[18] Rotund Reviews states that they "can’t praise this film enough and highly recommends checking it out."[17] Film Frenzy states that the film "offers an imaginative retelling of an acknowledged masterpiece from an alternate POV" and it's "definitely worth seeing and admiring.[19] Flixist also said that the film is "compelling" and "visually striking" while the "score was one of [his] favourite parts of the film: compelling, forceful, unique."[20] RogerEbert.com praised the film, stating that it demonstrates "courage, intelligence, integrity, and agency."[21] The Wrap agrees that it's a "lush, intelligent adaptation."[22]

References
  1. "Ophelia | Discover the best in independent, foreign, documentaries, and genre cinema from IFC Films. | IFC Films". Retrieved May 28, 2019 – via www.ifcfilms.com.
  2. https://deadline.com/2019/08/daisy-ridley-ophelia-distribution-deal-blue-finch-sundance-ifc-1202668808/
  3. "Ophelia (2019)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  4. "Ophelis (2019)". The Numbers. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  5. Debruge, Peter (2017-11-29). "Sundance Film Festival Unveils Full 2018 Features Lineup". Variety. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  6. Jaafar, Ali (May 4, 2016). "Daisy Ridley & Naomi Watts In Final Talks To Star In 'Ophelia'; Covert Media Aboard New Take On 'Hamlet' – Cannes". Deadline. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  7. "Ophelia". 22 January 2018 – via www.imdb.com.
  8. "Daisy Ridley Photo from Ophelia - ComingSoon.net". ComingSoon.net. May 22, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  9. Edelstein, David. "Daisy Ridley's Ophelia Is a Juicy, Crowd-Pleasing Shakespeare Revamp".
  10. Fleming Jr, Mike (February 9, 2019). "'Ophelia' With 'Star Wars' Daisy Ridley Set At IFC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  11. Truitt, Brian (April 29, 2019). "See Daisy Ridley swap 'Star Wars' for Shakespeare in exclusive 'Ophelia' trailer". USA Today. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  12. https://m.filmdates.co.uk/films/1005868-ophelia/?cookiesAlert=close
  13. "Ophelia (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  14. "Ophelia". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  15. "Film Review: "Ophelia" is Revisionist, Romantic, Ravishing". The Arts Fuse. June 30, 2019.
  16. "The Aisle Seat - Ophelia". aisleseat.com.
  17. "Ophelia". June 27, 2019.
  18. "'Ophelia' Breathes New Life Into The Classic Tale Of 'Hamlet' With A Beautiful Performance From Daisy Ridley [Review]". theplaylist.net.
  19. "Ophelia: Play Melancholy". June 28, 2019.
  20. "Review: Ophelia". Flixist.
  21. Minow, Nell. "Ophelia movie review & film summary (2019) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com.
  22. "'Ophelia' Film Review: Daisy Ridley Gives Shakespeare's Tragic Heroine a Provocative Do-Over". June 26, 2019.
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