I admit, when I heard of Grand Theft Hamlet, I thought it was a joke. It was described as “an immersive take on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet shot entirely in GTA 5.” For those who may not be gamers, Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the biggest and most profitable games of all time. A bulk of this money came from the online side of the game, aptly titled GTA Online, and this film is recorded entirely in that virtual world. If you’ve ever tried it before, you would know GTA Online is a chaotic and often ruthless place to be, which makes it all the more impressive to see what was done here. 

Grand Theft Hamlet was directed by Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls and chronicles the experience of Sam and his friend Mark Oosterveen as they attempt to cast and produce a live, virtual production of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet in GTA Online during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. 

The last thing I’ll say to preface this review is that it’s more of a documentary than a showcase of the actual production. The initial tagline I mentioned meant I was more ready to watch their version of Hamlet, which you get glimpses of, but we don’t see the whole thing. 

So, was Grand Theft Hamlet a noble effort or was it madness, method or not?

My Thoughts

I watched this movie a few weeks before I sat down to write this review. I wanted to stew on this a bit more because I was admittedly conflicted after my initial watch and part of that was about my own expectations. I really don’t like when people criticize something for it “not being what they expected” because it’s not the movie’s job to be what you expect. This is a big reason I do my absolute best to avoid trailers and marketing materials before a movie is released because I don’t want to create a picture in my mind before I get to see it. In this case, I was expecting to actually watch the production of Hamlet they performed, but this was not that. But, with that said, after giving myself a bit more time to digest it all, I’m pleased with what was delivered instead. 

What we got instead of that performance was a documentary about how they made their version of Hamlet, the cast of characters they met along the way to make it happen, and all the ups and downs that came with that. That’s what Grand Theft Hamlet is on a surface level, but more than that, I consider this up there with Bo Burnham’s Inside as one of the most poignant things to accurately capture the feelings of the pandemic era. 

What really stands out to me all these weeks later were those human moments of struggling with the despair and isolation that came with the pandemic and how they managed to create a small community of people that shared the same goal and ambitions to get this done. But of course life didn’t wait for all of this to happen and I was surprised by how emotionally impactful one moment in particular was when the real world forced the team to regroup about the whole project after losing a key cast member. The impact this had, particularly on Mark, was significant, because unlike Sam and Pinny, Mark was living alone and this project was the only way he was really able to experience any human connection during lockdowns. 

Another positive highlight was the GTA of it all. Constant random encounters with other players, many of which ended in death, the quirky costumes, and even the emotive acting from the cast using different gestures and such at key times was fantastic. I genuinely laughed a few times at these moments and they added an undeniable charm to the whole thing. 

The only thing that holds me back from an outright glowing review is that I didn’t feel the same fulfillment that I would’ve hoped. All of this work and build-up leads to the big performance, which we see in bits and pieces in almost a montage type fashion, but I never felt as fulfilled as I wanted to after such a fantastic build-up. This lack of deeper emotion towards the end of the movie left me feeling a bit mixed overall as the credits hit. However, as time has passed, I feel that the journey was ultimately more important than the destination, and the journey in Grand Theft Hamlet was absolutely something special. 

Verdict

I never expected to feel this deeply about Grand Theft Hamlet, but here we are. What started as a concept that made me laugh at first glance turned into one of the most unexpectedly poignant films I have seen lately. Not only does it brilliantly capture the surreal isolation of the pandemic era but it also pushes the boundaries of what filmmaking can be, proving that even in the most unlikely places, like the chaotic world of GTA Online, art and human connection can thrive.

It is worth watching for the sheer uniqueness alone, but I suspect its true impact will only grow with time. As we look back on the stories that truly encapsulate the pandemic’s emotional toll, Grand Theft Hamlet stands as an inventive, heartfelt and deeply human testament to making art against all odds.

You can watch Grand Theft Hamlet right now on Mubi!