Grand Theft Hamlet Is a Delightful Putting-on-a-Show Documentary

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Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen, both active actors, faced challenging times as working actors in the U.K. during January 2021. The film and television industries were nearly at a standstill, the country was in its third lockdown, and theaters were closed, which likely added to Crane’s disappointment since he had just been cast as Harry Potter in the West End production of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” In the early scenes of “Grand Theft Hamlet,” Crane and his wife, documentarian Pinny Grylls, discuss his despondency. “Everything’s shit – I have nothing now,” he laments, expressing similar feelings to many during the pandemic, as it seemed that numerous fragile and cherished aspects of life might not endure in the post-COVID world we were heading towards. What makes this conversation unique is that Crane and Grylls are portrayed by avatars with blue undercuts and skeleton pants, wandering around a lavish apartment overlooking Los Santos in “Grand Theft Auto Online.

The film “Grand Theft Hamlet” by Crane and Grylls, produced during the pandemic years, seems now, in the chaotic early 2025, more like a lament for the internet. Though the internet continues to exist, along with the online multiplayer version of Rockstar Games’ popular franchise where “Grand Theft Hamlet” was filmed, it’s clear that its heyday is waning, especially as major platforms struggle under the control of self-centered owners and apathetic executives.

In the social media era, the internet has been both an escape from reality and a reflection of it, creating tension within our collective consciousness. Yet, it’s also provided joy and unanticipated connections, themes beautifully portrayed in this captivating documentary. With limited alternatives, directors Crane and Oosterveen have spent extended periods in the game’s fictionalized Los Angeles, bantering with friends while engaging in virtual gunfights. During one of these sessions, they discover a replica of the Hollywood Bowl in the game, and ponder if it could be used to stage a production. Perhaps Shakespeare? People play “GTA” for its violence, but that’s something the Bard was also fond of.

Grand Theft Hamlet narrates an unlikely staging of Hamlet, where two individuals embark on a venture that’s part internet prank and part genuine artistic endeavor, given credence by Bear Grylls’ involvement and his use of the in-game camera. The humor primarily arises from the idea of reappropriating a gleefully crass corporate product for an unconventional purpose. They advertise auditions, eventually creating a humorous promo video on the beach that is disrupted by police arriving via ropes. Crane exclaims defiantly, “You can’t stop art, motherfuckers!” before both are ‘killed off’ in the game. This game-over screen becomes a recurring joke throughout their endeavor to produce art within a game that promotes casual violence. They eventually assemble a cast from online applicants and real-life acquaintances, gaining allies such as ParTeb, a Tunisian-Finnish individual who dresses as an alien, flashes his avatar’s extraterrestrial rear, and recites Quranic verses on stage in a heartwarming moment.

In this unconventional film, moments of vulnerability and majestic beauty are equally significant as the ridiculous scenes that punctuate it. Despite these instances serving as reminders that “Grand Theft Hamlet” isn’t merely a whimsical endeavor, but a thoughtful project from creatives seeking to capitalize on their spare time, they feel authentic.
– Oosterveen, a solitary individual with no living relatives, confides in Grylls about his loneliness while Crane temporarily exits for a bathroom break.
– One of the online-recruited cast members, Nora, discloses her recent coming out as trans to her family and identifies with Hamlet’s quest for self-discovery.
– While these scenes resonate, they also seem designed to provide some depth to a spectacle that isn’t extensively showcased, as the process rather than the result is what captivates us.
– Yet when the play stages the ghost scene atop a blimp floating above an elaborate cityscape, it’s breathtaking – a reinterpretation of background beauty amidst digital destruction for a more profound purpose.
– Tragically, the blimp plummets, causing the entire cast to perish, only to resurrect and continue their performance. As art cannot be halted, “Grand Theft Auto Online” or a global pandemic notwithstanding, the show persists.

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2025-01-17 18:53