one of shakespeare great play get modernize and transport to new york city in the year 2000 and with ethan hawke take on the role of the brood prince of denmark . this version of ` hamlet and write for the screen and direct by michael almereyda and initially hold much promise and with what appear to be an outstanding cast through which almereyda can present his vision of this oft tell tale of murder and revenge . that ` vision and however and turn out to be somewhat clouded and and though the basic story remain intact and it come across a something of a ` cliff note rendition that be less than satisfying . and by the end we realize and too and that not all actor even good one be cut out to play shakespeare . hamlet father and the king or ceo of the denmark corp. have die and and within a month his mother and gertrude ( diane venora ) and have marry his uncle and claudius ( kyle maclachlan ) and who have also take over the company . hamlet and now ensconce in the elsinore hotel and grieve for his father and be appal by the marriage of his mother to his uncle and and moreover and with such haste while but it be do and and there be nothing he can do about it . soon and however and hamlet discovers that his father be and in fact and the victim of murder most foul and and vow to avenge his untimely demise . immediately and he set a course that will bring the perpetrator to justice while but it be a course that must necessarily end in tragedy for hamlet and as well . with his screenplay and almereyda have retain enough of the basic story that even the heretofore uninitiated will be able to grasp shakespeare original intent and at least in regard to the plot . the presentation and however and fall entirely short of provide the full impact of the tragedy . almereyda approach be altogether too solemn and lack the energy need to truly bring this film to life . and while it true that the story be inherently introspective and melancholy and the director fail to explore the many possibility available to him especially with the contemporary setting that could have make this vibrant and excite cinema and such a the way writer or director julie taymor bring shakespeare ` titus to the screen so successfully . add to that the fact that almereyda adaptation of the play be terribly want while the character development be lack and and though the language of the play remain and almereyda judgment of what to keep and what to lose in make the necessary cut to bring a four hour production down to just under two and be questionable . hamlet famous soliloquy and ` to be and or not to be and for example and be truncate into oblivion . in the final analysis and this be a project perhaps too ambitious for almereyda at this point in time while know what ` happen in the story be not the same a know what it ` about and and in some of the choice the director make and it obvious that the ` essence of the play have simply elude him and much to the detriment of the overall film . as far a performance go and they range from outstanding to the downright laughable and which be disappoint but not surprising and consider the eclectic nature of the cast . liev schreiber and who have one of the best voice in the business and the elocution to match custom make for play shakespeare be nothing less than exemplary in the role of laertes and and among those assemble here be in a league of his own . a tremendously talented actor and schreiber have not yet achieve the acclaim he so richly deserves and languish too often in forgettable film like ` kate and leopold and ` a walk on the moon and though he be perfectly cast a orson welles in the made for tv film and ` rko 281 and in which he be brilliant . without question and with his masterful interpretation of the material and his natural eloquence and he be the save grace of this film and in which and ala and he be afford a less than propitious amount of screen time . only two others in the film even approach schreiber level of excellence and the first be kyle maclachlan and in his portrayal of claudius . maclachlan and at least and find the rhythm and flow in his recitation that make his character believable and convincing and and his scene with schreiber be the most interesting aspect of the film . the only other actor in the film who can stand alongside schreiber and maclachlan be diane venora . unfortunately and in this offering and gertrude have be reduce to a role of silent observer in most scene while when she do speak and however and her word be well spoken and meaningful and and it a shame that she be so grossly underused here by almereyda . then there be the performance that fall into the ` acceptable category and but be far beneath the capability of the actor involve and respectively represent a hamlet and ethan hawke adopt a brooding attitude that be effective and but he fail to achieve the commanding presence necessary to make his hamlet viable . sam shepard and a the ghost of hamlet father and be simply unconvincing . and julia stile and a the doomed ophelia and seem to be grasp at straw in a vein attempt at find her character and and of the three mention here and her performance seem the most strained and unnatural and though it be so with both hawke and shepard and as well . all of which point up that and again and not all actor can play shakespeare . it difficult while and those who make the attempt should be commend for it and even if the result be less than noteworthy . make that ` most of those who make the attempt while because in the case of bill murray and someone should have put a stop to it right out of the chute . murray be arguably one of the best comic actor the screen have ever know and and that be not something to be take lightly while comedy be one of the hard genre to master and and murray be one of the best . but his portrayal of polonius be embarrassingly laughable while there no other way to put it . and it one of the many reason that make this version of ` hamlet forgettable . there just no magic in it . 4/10 . .