This film is part of Rentals
Hamlet
The line "the counterfeit presentment of two brothers" inspires a radical rethink of Hamlet, starring identical twins.
Director: Celestino Coronado
Overview
Helen Mirren may have made more notorious films in the late 1970s (Caligula, SOS Titanic), but this experimental Hamlet was easily her most adventurous. She plays both Gertrude and Ophelia in a production revolving around the play's recurring notions of doubles, mirrors and parallel motivations. Hamlet himself - or themselves - is played by identical twins Anthony and David Meyer. The heavily truncated and reshuffled text makes this is a challenging watch for those less familiar with the play - but it's a rewarding one.
Hamlet was the film directing debut of Spanish-born Celestino Coronado, who made it for just £2,500 as his Royal College of Art diploma piece. Other cast members included civil servant turned gay icon Quentin Crisp as Polonius. Coronado paralleled his RCA studies with his role as artistic director of the Lindsay Kemp Company, with whom he later collaborated on the film A Midsummer Night's Dream (1984) and many other theatre pieces. Hamlet is dedicated to the then recently deceased Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini, also known for his controversial reinventions of classic texts.
Related
Plainclothes Plainclothes
Drama 2025 97 mins Director: Carmen Emmi
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey lead a Sundance-prize winning ensemble in this knockout cruising drama from debut director Carmen Emmi.
Young Hearts Young Hearts
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Anthony Schatteman
A gentle and sincere story of queer love between two young teenage boys, told with warmth and humour.
Solo Solo
Drama 2025 102 mins Director: Sophie Dupuis
Emerging drag queen Simon begins a passionate, yet destructive relationship with an alluring new man, as his mother re-enters his life after 15 years
Christy Christy
Drama 2025 95 mins Director: Brendan Canty
Deeply moving portrait of a young man thrown out of his foster home, trying for a new start after moving in with his estranged brother in Cork.
A Night Like This A Night Like This
Drama 2025 101 mins Director: Liam Calvert
Two seemingly mismatched men form an unexpected connection over the course of one cold London night, in this warm-hearted debut from Liam Calvert.
Paul & Paulette Take a Bath Paul & Paulette Take a Bath
Drama 2024 109 mins Director: Jethro Massey
This unconventional romantic comedy sees a young American in Paris meet a woman with a morbid curiosity for the darker sides of the city's history.
Food of Love Food of Love
Drama 1997 109 mins Director: Stephen Poliakoff
Richard E. Grant leads a dramatic reunion as friends and lovers gather to perform Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night in Stephen Poliakoff’s romantic comedy.
Macbeth Macbeth
Drama 2015 113 mins Director: Justin Kurzel
Fassbender is ferocious as the Scottish king in Justin Kurzel’s red-blooded and viscerally atmospheric Shakespeare adaptation.
Richard III Richard III
Drama 1996 104 mins Director: Richard Loncraine
Ian McKellen and Richard Loncraine’s bold restaging transplants Shakespeare’s play to an imagined 1930s fascist Britain.
Play On! Shakespeare in Silent Film Play On! Shakespeare in Silent Film
Anthology 2016 63 mins Silent Director: Bryony Dixon and Jane Giles
This celebration of silent Shakespeare interweaves a delightful selection of thrilling, iconic and humorous scenes from 24 newly digitised films.
Mercutio's Dreaming Mercutio's Dreaming
Comedy 2011 16 mins Director: Jennifer Lim and Daniel York
The travails of a British-Chinese, would-be Shakespearean actor, in an industry that sees him only as an 'Oriental'.
Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet
Drama 1954 145 mins Director: Renato Castellani
Laurence Harvey and Susan Shentall are the star-crossed lovers in the ravishingly filmed 1954 adaptation.
Orlando Orlando
Fantasy 1993 93 mins Director: Sally Potter
Tilda Swinton stars in Sally Potter's dazzling interpretation of Virginia Woolf's novel.
Eye in the Sky Eye in the Sky
Thriller 2016 102 mins Director: Gavin Hood
Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman (in his last role) play the military commanders caught in the ethical crosshairs of drone warfare, in Gavin Hood’s gripping military thriller.
Trumbo Trumbo
Biopic 2015 124 mins Director: Jay Roach
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Argo) gives a cracking performance as Dalton Trumbo, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who became a Hollywood outcast.
The Duke The Duke
Comedy 2020 95 mins Director: Roger Michell
Roger Michell's final feature film stars Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren in an uplifting true story about an eccentric art heist.
An Accidental Studio An Accidental Studio
Documentary 2019 93 mins Director: Bill Jones, Ben Timlett and Kim Leggatt
Charting the rise of one of Britain's most distinctive film companies, HandMade Films, producer of classics such as Life of Brian, The Long Good Friday and Withnail and I.
Brighton Rock Brighton Rock
Crime 2011 111 mins Director: Rowan Joffe
Rowan Joffe's adaptation of Graham Greene’s famous novel brings the doomed love story between Pinkie Brown (Sam Riley) and Rose (Andrea Riseborough) back to the screen with grit and panache.
The Queen The Queen
Drama 2006 103 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Helen Mirren won an Oscar for her performance as the enduring monarch who comes under scrutiny following the death of Princess Diana.
Ghost Trail Ghost Trail
Thriller 2024 106 mins Director: Jonathan Millet
Tense, morally complex political thriller about a man hunting down fugitive war criminals from the Assad regime in Syria, inspired by true events.
Plainclothes Plainclothes
Drama 2025 97 mins Director: Carmen Emmi
Tom Blyth and Russell Tovey lead a Sundance-prize winning ensemble in this knockout cruising drama from debut director Carmen Emmi.
What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day? What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day?
Documentary 2005 45 mins Director: Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly’s second collaboration with pop band Saint Etienne traces the hidden history of East London’s Lower Lea Valley before its Olympic makeover.
Young Hearts Young Hearts
Drama 2024 99 mins Director: Anthony Schatteman
A gentle and sincere story of queer love between two young teenage boys, told with warmth and humour.
Finisterre Finisterre
Documentary 2003 59 mins Director: Kieran Evans and Paul Kelly
A journey from London’s suburbs to its heart, charting the influence of the city on indie pop band Saint Etienne.
This Is Tomorrow This Is Tomorrow
2007 54 mins Director: Paul Kelly
The final part of Saint Etienne and Paul Kelly’s London trilogy follows the renovation and reopening of the Royal Festival Hall through 2005-7.