Chiwetel Ejiofor, the man who played Mordo in Dr. Strange and the free black in 12 years a slave! Perfect casting; Hamlet, fallen royalty, Mordo, fallen sorcerer, and a fallen free black.
It's not his fault, not even the director's. It's the producer. This clip is part of a larger project with strict length requirements. You see the same result whenever someone tries to stage an 'uncut' Hamlet. They're forced to rush through it for the audience's sake or else it takes too long for the modern ear (or ass). Trust me, if the actor were doing the same speech as an audition piece, he'd work the transitions because THAT is what a director wants to see ... a constant sense of discovery.
I wish they hadn't put the music in. It annoys me that time constraints would force the performance to be so quick but regardless of speed you can see the capability of the man! How he slows and throws definition of certain parts. The delivery is awesome. Still, I think the music actually ruins the whole atmosphere of the clip.
I actually loved the music lol it suited the piece even though I understand your point. This is the only time I can say where a Hamlet monologue kept my attention the whole time. Ejiofor delivery and gestures were amazing. I do agree at certain point he could have slowed it down to work important transitions. Like when he's comparing Hecuba grief over losing her husband King Priam to his mother Gertrude lack of grief over his father's death. That is a VERY VERY important part of Hamlet monologue imo. But like what has already been stated, time constraint was an issue. I would love to see him perform the whole thing.
