Grand Theft Hamlet

The greatest argument to convince me that games could indeed be art, husband and wife Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls' documentary about staging Shakespeare's "Hamlet" in the online world of the popular video game Grand Theft Auto is authentic and emotionally deep. Surprising, considering the entire movie takes place in a world where people dressed like aliens can fly military jets and shoot each other with a bazooka.

The absurdity of the premise quickly settles in though, as the movie quickly rises towards thoughtful and philosophical upper middle-class ruminations. Crane, his wife Grylls, and their family friend Mark Oosterveen have all lost their jobs due to the lockdown. Mark is especially down on his luck, as he is alone so it's difficult for him not to spend time feeling sorry for himself. Sam now takes courses in tech and sees that as a sign that his dreams are lost to him. Pinny is more optimistic, though, and does her best to carry both her husband and her friend through the hardships.

In what can be described as a desperate form of therapy, the trio plans to recreate Shakespeare's "Hamlet" in the video game world and the first conclusion they reach is that they need more people so they start recruiting. Initially there is not much success. The world of Grand Theft Auto is about driving fast cars, shooting, stealing, fighting, flying--basically things most of us can't do in real life. But in a way, is the same for our protagonists. They are filmmakers who cannot perform their jobs in the real world, so it's time to log in.

Eventually, they did get a team together. People with their own stories, regrets and struggles. Just like in real life, they organized practice sessions, they staged the show across multiple locations of GTA's digital realm, with the final "performance" live on a streaming platform. However, amidst the emotional depth, this is still an online video game. The movement of the characters are cranky, robotic. There are technical issues, disconnects and the world is overall an unpredictable space. This technical element, now being part of the artistic performance, not only brought an unusual Lynchian sense of surrealism, but was pure fun--truly the closes video games ever got to being their own art form.

Grylls' way of perceiving the world though, was the biggest selling point of this movie. As quotes from "Hamlet" were being delivered, we see faces of the various NPCs in the game. Their expressions so human that you almost forget for a second that they are nothing but indelible pixels on a flat screen. For Sam and Mark, who live in a world which was shut down, they are as real as they can get. Unlike us, their lives are as long as the life of the world itself and in this liminal space unchained by the laws of physics and in which everything can be recorded, William Shakespeare was also given his slice of eternity.

When I first started watching this film, I'll admit, I wasn't expecting much. As a fan of video game walkthroughs, I feared it would simply be another standard take on people playing in their respective digital worlds. Thankfully, I was proven wrong, and what unfolded was an emotional journey that kept me hooked.

Watching it, whilst remembering the context of the time it was 'filmed' adds an extra layer of depth to the experience. The film resonates more when you remember the world we were living in during that period.

There's a lot of fun to be had, especially with the video game slapstick humor. What really stands out, however, are the performances-some truly fine actors navigating both the real and virtual worlds, each delivering their craft in unique and compelling ways.

This film is surprising and genuinely enjoyable. I'd recommend it to anyone fascinated by virtual worlds, but also to those who appreciate the underlying struggles we try to suppress in the real world.

Although it takes a while to get used to, 'Grand Theft Hamlet (2024)' is ultimately surprisingly compelling considering it's essentially a series of screen recordings of 'Grand Theft Auto Online (2013)'. This documentary depicts two out-of-work actors deciding to merge two of their major interests by staging a production of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' entirely within the open-world sandbox of their favourite COVID-lockdown distraction. After tentatively staging auditions, the pair and their documentarian observer (a non-fiction filmmaker who's also the wife of one of the focal actors) are surprised to find legitimate interest from people all over the world. Soon, their dreams of putting on the first GTA-only production of a play are underway, and they find themselves reckoning not just with the unruly nature of their digital stage but also with the schedules of their fellow actors. At its best, the piece is a testament to the sense of community and connection both theatre and video-games can provide, something we all realised was incredibly important during the recent pandemic (arguably, something like this could only be made under such circumstances). At times, though, it does feel overly staged and it also struggles to justify its length, even though said length is only around ninety minutes. Still, it's an intermittently funny, intermittently moving, and generally inspiring experimental documentary that offers a unique take on its material and feels specifically crafted for today's digital world. It's arguably one of the most timely updates of Shakespeare we've seen in a long time, even if it's more about the making of a Shakespeare production than an actual production itself (said production was live-streamed and viewed in-game a few years ago). It's an engaging experience that isn't ashamed to be exactly what it is and is all the better for it.

It's 2021 and near enough the entire world is locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many creatives at that time Sam and Mark (Not the CBBC duo) find themselves out of work and as a result find their mental health declining. They both get into playing video games primarily it seems as a way to socialise without actually being in the vicinity of others. Whilst playing the game Grand Theft Auto 5 together they come up with a seemingly impossible concept... staging a production of Shakespeares Hamlet set entirely within the fictitious world of Los Santos.

On hearing the synopsis it would be easy to assume that they got a few of their actor friends involved and simply put on the play. This however is not the case and whilst I've seen a lot of people criticise how little of the actual play is in this film I think what Sam and Mark have created is actually a lot more interesting. Grand Theft Hamlet is a documentary rather than a drama that explores both the stresses of putting on a play, as well as drawing parallels between the themes of Hamlet and the lockdown experiences of the two leads.

Firstly there's the stresses of putting on a play. This tends to be where the more comedic moments come in as Sam and Mark try to do things like hold auditions all whilst being shot either by other players or by NPC's. Not only do they have the general public to contend with however they also have the personal lives of everyone involved. People get jobs in the real world for instance and as a result become less available for the play. Sam and Mark are then left with the dilemma of finding a replacement. Needless to say this all results in some hilarious moments whilst also creating real tension around whether their objective is actually achievable or not.

There's also some surprisingly heartfelt personal moments. A particularly poignant moment is when the two discuss the infamous 'To be or not to be' line and its meaning that almost draws parallel with their personal pandemic struggles. I think it's something that a lot of people will be able to relate to if you think back to that time, it just plain sucked. In fact the whole documentary is a great time capsule for remembering the COVID pandemic, the funny moments, the really dark moments and the general strangeness that we all felt.

Grand Theft Hamlet is ultimately one of the most unique and creative pieces of filmmaking that I've seen for a good while and I highly recommend giving it a watch.

Grand Theft Hamlet is a hilarious, moving, and inspiring documentary where just reading the premise catches your interest.

The documentary takes place in January 2021, and the UK is still in lockdown due to COVID-19; to pass a massive amount of time, two actors, Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen, decide to play Grand Theft Auto Online. While playing through the game, they find an area in the game almost hard to find, an amphitheater, called The Vinewood Bowl (inspired by the real-life Hollywood Bowl in LA), which serves as a concert and event venue. A funny idea came through this discovery - a digital production of Hamlet. They decide to act out a few monologues from the play, which results in hilarious moments where they get interrupted by other players who open fire on them, so they shoot back, and then the SWAT team quickly arrives at the scene to further escalate the chaos. The funny thing is that he is still delivering his soliloquy while shooting at the police.

The entire documentary is in the video game, and the game-play footage is recorded.

However, a funny idea turns into a serious project. The plan is to do the entire play of Hamlet through GTA, set up auditions in the online game to get people on board, do rehearsals, block it, and eventually live-stream the event. But this comes with its challenges and difficulties, such as organizing production in the video game world. Whether that is problems with the Internet connection, availability, or other players interrupting the rehearsal, it all becomes a massive headache and takes a toll on everyone involved.

The funniest part of the documentary is the ridiculousness of it all. There were plenty of laughs from everyone, me included. But what surprised me was how personal and, oddly enough, thought-provoking.

There comes a point when they question why they are doing this and why this silly idea is causing much stress. Some of them have families to provide for, and others have jobs. But for some, it gives them a purpose, a drive, and a therapeutic escapism. So, this stupid thing is giving someone a reason to keep going. Or one part where a cast member, who is trans, finds a deep connection to the play and character of Hamlet because when they came out to their family members as trans, they realised they don't know their proper characters until the ugly truth. They become more distant than before.

Shakespeare's text still has relevance - and what amazes me is the different interpretations people can get from the play. While watching, it made me reflect on certain things. Yep, Grand Theft Hamlet made me reflect on things.

After the screening, we had a short Q&A with Mark Oosterveen. I have never been to a Q&A before, and I am glad I stayed around because I learned a lot more about the doc. Mark said something compelling about his acting style in this, which is a mixture of puppetry (controlling your avatar in the game) and voice work (using a headset mic to talk online). But what is even more insane and unreal is that the Royal Shakespeare Company contacted them asking if they had the recorded live-stream performance so they could show it to younger people and get them interested in Shakespeare. Not bad.

Overall rating: The most wild and wonderful documentaries out there.