Branagh's Polonius
JSU152
This topic may have been discussed in this newsgroup before, but I
just caught the Branagh's HAMLET a few days ago so it's new to me.
It seems to me that the portrayal of Polonius in B's is problematic.
I feel the film character is too young and too sinister and comes off as
some abusive control freak like (tennis star) Mary Pierce's dad (what was
the deal with the deshabille wench in the scene with Reynaldo?). It seems
to me that the character in the play is more of a nosy and tiresome but
not malicious old man. Perhaps Kenneth B. made Polonius into more of a
villain in order to make Hamlet's killing of him look like less of a
crime? Or perhaps B's interpretation of the role is entirely apt. What
thinkst thou?
In a completely unrelated note, I thought it was funny the way
Branagh spat out "frailty thy name is woman" during the "O that this too
too solid flesh..." soliloquy like he was embarrased to have ever thought
such a thing. I half expected him to turn to the audience and say: don't
blame me, I didn't write it!
Anita
JSU152 wrote:
>
> This topic may have been discussed in this newsgroup before, but I
> just caught the Branagh's HAMLET a few days ago so it's new to me.
> It seems to me that the portrayal of Polonius in B's is problematic.
> I feel the film character is too young and too sinister and comes off as
> some abusive control freak like (tennis star) Mary Pierce's dad (what was
> the deal with the deshabille wench in the scene with Reynaldo?). It seems
> to me that the character in the play is more of a nosy and tiresome but
> not malicious old man. Perhaps Kenneth B. made Polonius into more of a
> villain in order to make Hamlet's killing of him look like less of a
> crime? Or perhaps B's interpretation of the role is entirely apt. What
> thinkst thou?
My impression of Polonius's character differs a bit with yours. Of
course each viewer/reader gathers different impressions. I found him to
be more than just nosy and tiresome.
It's established early on by Claudius, his importance in the new Danish
court when he says to Laertes;
"The head is not more native to the heart,
The hand more instrumental to the mouth,
Than is the throne of Denmark to thy father."
Then his treatment of Ophelia in the 'give me up the truth' scene. He is
concerned for her welfare, but he's also very aware of his position in
court and doesn't want anything like a relationship between his daughter
and Hamlet interfering with it.
I think the stale in the bedroom with him and Raynaldo was a visual
reinforcement for audience members that might have a hard time with the
dialogue between him and Raynaldo. The scene showed his deviousness in
sending Raynaldo to SPY and gather information on his son in France. On
the other hand, he wasn't all bad. I think he was genuinely convinced
his ordering his daughter not to see Hamlet added to Hamlet's
'madness'. But of course Hamlet doesn't see that. From Hamlet POV
Polonius was an interfering suckup to the murderous King that
interferred with his relationship with Ophelia, spied on him during the
nunnary scene and was spying on him in his mother's bedroom and
constantly trying to get information out of him. So he probably didn't
feel too much remorse after killing him;
Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell!
I took thee for thy better: take thy fortune:
Thou find'st to be too busy is some danger;
Anyway, I never had the impression that Polonius was simply a tiresome,
harmless nosy fool. But I don't think he was as malicious as Hamlet
imagined him to be. But then, Hamlet didn't know him as well as we did,
did he!
Regards
Anita
Christian Renaud
JSU152,
One interpretation is as good as another, I guess. If you look at Ian
Holm in Zeffirelli's '90 version, he is a dottering fool, befit of the
imitation from his son. At the same time he delivers the 'platitudes'
to Laertes with great reverence, he is also oblivious to Hamlet's
sarcasm re: 'Words, words, words' and jibes (not in the film but in the
folio) regarding the treatment of the players..
The interesting thing to note is that Branagh made him slightly deeper
and with a touch of evil (thus, the wench in the scene with Reynaldo),
which if you think about it, is a little more fitting the principal
advisor to the King, whereas the Holm depiction is more of a court
jester. Alas, poor Polonius. That'll teach him to cut off the most
immediate from the throne from his daughter, eh?
CR
Jack Seeley
> Anyway, I never had the impression that Polonius was simply a tiresome,
> harmless nosy fool. But I don't think he was as malicious as Hamlet
> imagined him to be. But then, Hamlet didn't know him as well as we did,
> did he!
>
> Regards
> Anita
I think Polonius is anything but a fool. He not only is the Lord
Chamberlain, a position akin to the President's Chief of Staff, but he has
held the post through a change in administration.
He has also raised two children without a wife, which is a major
undertaking, even with a staff of servants.
If there is anything foolish about Polonius, it is that he is
long-winded, and is not devious enough for treacherous politics--although
he tries.