Something is rotten in the state of San Andreas.
2020 was a truly mad year for many of us. And it didn't end as soon as we wanted it to. Some of us had to deal with the effects of a global pandemic and the eerie silence of unpopulated streets while we went into a national lockdown. Some of us had the added strain of recently separating from a significant other and misusing alcohol before figuring out much healthier coping mechanisms. Okay, maybe that last part was just me. But I'm sure I wasn't the only one. Some people began to appreciate the worlds offered to them by online gaming environments. A trip to a virtual beach was, in a way, at least better than nothing. And, despite the focus on crime and anti-social behaviour, it turns out that there are many opportunities to have a rewarding and sanity-saving get-together in the world of Grand Theft Auto Online.
I am a fan of the Grand Theft Auto videogame series, but I'm a fan with very limited ability. Have I played every instalment? No. Do I wish that I could still get my hands on the original top-down games I played on my PSOne back in the late 1990s? Absolutely. Have I spent many hours finding a spot inaccessible to the police only to then set myself up there as a sniper of innocent victims while my "wanted" rating goes higher and higher? Yes. Is it always easier to go for that option after failing some of the main missions multiple times? Also yes.
In case you weren't aware of how any of this relates to Grand Theft Hamlet, what we have here is a film documenting the attempt by two people (Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen) to stage a production of Hamlet in the world of Grand Theft Auto Online. They have a few good locations to choose from, they know a lot of the speeches, but they have to assemble a cast, rehearse, and keep working hard to get everyone together at the right time. All while avoiding being robbed, beaten up, shot, and/or handled with extreme prejudice by some heavy-handed videogame police. One or two brief moments aside, the whole thing is presented to us within the videogame world, with Sam, Mark, and everyone else represented by their in-game characters.
Having heard a lot about Grand Theft Hamlet before finally getting to see it, I was hoping to find it a rewarding and satisfying experience. It is, for the most part, but I am also a bit surprised by how much praise I have seen heaped upon it. Co-directed, and apparently co-written, by Crane and his partner, Pinny Grylls, there's nothing much to discuss here in terms of the visuals and audio. This is a tale set in the world of Grand Theft Auto Online, and it's only really the editing that reminds you of the fact that you're actually watching a film.
This works well when you're being reminded of various experiences that many of us have shared, at one time or another. The desperation for contact and a sense of purpose during lockdown was a major problem for many. Finding friends online who end up becoming as important to you as people you know in the real world is something that can apply to videogame worlds, social media, and forums where normal and enjoyable conversation can still be found. It works less well, however, when it feels just a bit too polished and inauthentic, presenting conversations that are staged in a way that jars with the many other moments that feel brilliantly anarchic and in line with the problem of trying to perform some Shakespeare in the middle of a world more concerned with carjackings, casual violence, and rewarding bad behaviour. It should be more fun watching people wax lyrically about suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune as they suffer the stabbings and shootings of this videogame environment, but Crane, Grylls, and Oosterveen want to keep giving more space and time to exchanges that feel a bit staged. I appreciate being reminded of the toll that the whole lockdown situation took on everyone, but I could do without a scene that has Crane being berated by Grylls for not spending enough time with her in the real world, even if one or two unintentional laughs come from people trying to have that conversation while videogame characters interrupt them.
Best appreciated by those who are at least aware of the Grand Theft Auto videogame series, but it's certainly also accessible to those who should be able to empathise with some of the themes of loneliness, the way time can be eaten up when you find something to distract you from the awfulness of world events, and a desire to achieve something that becomes more difficult to imagine being a success as you continue to swim against a tide that just keeps getting stronger as it tries to push you back.
"Though this be madness, yet there is method in't."
7/10
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