
Shakespeare finds new life with Daisy Ridley in ‘Ophelia’
It is regarded as one of William Shakespeare’s most haunting and dramatic works, and now Hamlet is about to find new life through the eyes of Daisy Ridley in Ophelia.
Watch the dramatic new trailer below:
Here’s the full synopsis:
Set in the 14th Century but spoken in a contemporary voice, Ophelia is a dynamic re-imagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Ophelia (Daisy Ridley) takes center stage as Queen Gertrude’s (Naomi Watts) most trusted lady-in-waiting. Beautiful and intelligent, she soon captures the attention of the handsome Prince Hamlet (George MacKay) and a forbidden love blossoms. As war brews, lust and betrayal are tearing Elsinore Castle apart from within and Ophelia must decide between her true love or her own life in order to protect a very dangerous secret.
Finding perfect composition of both light and dark, director Claire McCarthy frames the famed tragedy of the Prince of Denmark through the eyes of his one true love Ophelia and star Daisy Ridley is right up for the challenge. It’s a heavy and complicated role as she plays an ingenue who is thrust into the dangers of court politics as her beloved Hamlet seeks vengeance after his father’s strange death.
Those familiar with Hamlet will know of the outcome of the story, but McCarthy focuses inward on the psychology of her heroine and the journey that she must take in a beautiful kingdom that suddenly becomes savage.
Joining Ridley in the film is an immensely talented cast who include George MacKay as Hamlet, Naomi Watts as Gertrude and Clive Owen as Claudius, and these performers are complemented by the gorgeous cinematography of Denson Baker and the wondrous wardrobe of costume designer Massimo Cantini Parrini.
Ophelia looks to be a breathing piece of cinema that is sure to capture the burning desire of the bard’s Hamlet, and is a showcase for the talents of Daisy Ridley.
Ophelia is set to arrive in cinemas on July 25.
Images: Madman Films