Analysis of the Closet Scene in Hamlet the Movie
Analysis of the Closet Scene in Hamlet the Movie
Hamlet is often seen as one of the most well known examples of an Oedipus Complex presented in literature. The reasons for this is probably because of the plot that resolves around the revenge that Hamlet has against his step-father Claudius and because of the relationship that Hamlet has with his mother that is loaded with sexual energy. Hamlet’s love for his mother is especially exemplified by the Mel Gibson’s interpretation of the infamous closet scene.
Traditionally a Queen’s closet was not worth emphasizing a bedroom, but it is likely that most of the readers would presume that the closet scene takes place in Gertrude’s bedroom because of the obsession that Hamlet has about Gertrude’s bed. When Hamlet responds to his mother’s summons and comes to her closet, he invades a very private place where customarily a woman would only entertain her husband or a lover. For an adult son to do this, intimations of erotic possibilities are almost inevitable because the son crosses the line into the enclosure of his mother’s privacy to encounter her as a sexualized subject.
The room that Olivier created for Gertrude contained a lot of scenery to convey a subliminal message. The tall doors look phallic-shaped and the bed is the center of attention most of the time. The bed is also much more lit than the rest of the room that emphasizes the importance of it. The way Gertrude kisses Hamlet in the Olivier, can be signifiers of the sexuality that is going in between her and Hamlet. The kisses are not what the everyday person interprets as platonic and it is almost as if Hamlet and Gertrude are drawn closer and closer because of the passion between them, in order that their faces are only inches apart. The last kiss between Gertrude and Hamlet is a great example of how Olivier intended the bed and the sexual connotation that goes with that to be the center of attention. When the last kiss is given, the camera angle turns to have the bed as well as the two figures kissing in the picture. Gertrude by the bed is the last focus of the camera you see when the scene ends.
Richardson’s Hamlet is not as much preoccupied with sexuality than Olivier’s- or the Zeffirelli’s Hamlet. The relationship between Gertrude and Hamlet in this film...