By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
Riz Ahmed stars in a modern-day version of Shakespeare’s tragedy
Year: 2026
Certificate: 15
Riz Ahmed plays the vengeful prince, in a version of Hamlet that’s mostly faithful to Shakespeare’s original text but set in modern-day London – within a wealthy, dysfunctional Hindu family. Elsinore in this case is not a castle but the family’s powerful corporation.
Ahmed, a passionate actor even in much lighter-hearted fare, is formidably intense as the young man aghast to learn that his mother, Gertrude (Sheeba Chaddha), is marrying his uncle, Claudius (Art Malik), later discovering that Claudius also murdered his father. Well, you know the story.
It’s fiercely told in Aneil Karia’s film, which makes a few character and plot omissions (alas, poor Yorick doesn’t get a look-in). But it’s splendidly acted (the strong cast also includes Timothy Spall as Polonius, Joe Alwyn as Laertes and Morfydd Clark as Ophelia), and among several startling scenes treats us to the memorable spectacle of Hamlet delivering his famous soliloquy while speeding through East London in a BMW. (113 minutes)
