Act I Scene 3 - Tennant (2009)

Scene 3 of Gregory Doran's Hamlet is a domestic, practically normal scene that counterpoints well the drama that is to come. Though played on a bare stage, of course, the location is well used to give us a corner where Laertes and Ophelia no doubt spent their childhood hiding from their tedious father. The normalcy, especially compared to the more stylized black floor scenes, heightens this family's tragedy. This is the last time they will all be together.

Laertes starts the scene looking around, feeding the sense of paranoia inherent in the staging, despite the warmer surroundings. Ophelia helps him with last minute packing, adding a shirt to his luggage, and mostly smiling through his whole speech, perhaps not daring to believe he's right about Hamlet. He's being condescending and she lets him dig his own grave. Though I am on record saying Mariah Gale is lackluster in the role, I must confess to finding her rather engaging in this, her first scene. Ophelia, like Gertrude, is an underwritten role that requires the actress to play it all in her reactions. She certainly does that, though I still find her a little "plain" for a prince to have fallen for her. Of course, that is possibly due to the absence of any other girls his age in Elsinore. If the make-up does nothing for her, costume does. The flowery blouse ties in with Ophelia's scripted flower motif.
Edward Bennett's Laertes offers some illuminating line readings, including particular stress on the word "unvalued". The play has Laertes somewhere in the line of succession, and Getrude belatedly admits that Ophelia could have made a good wife for Hamlet. The Polonius family, whatever their nobility, are not "unvalued persons", but Laertes believes they are. Or perhaps he should have said "undervalued". It's his own hang-up, having grown up in the shadow of the prince, or if only because his father has not properly nurtured him. Certainly, Polonius' parenting style leaves something to be desired. Laertes is patronizing to his sister, because his father is patronizing to them both. That has been his model. Polonius has fed his insecurities and probably driven him away to France. Laertes thus has reason to think his sister is not "good enough" for Hamlet, which means Hamlet is not "good enough" for her (showing two different kinds of importance).

He doesn't make much of a dent in Ophelia's affections for Hamlet. She outright bursts out laughing when he awkwardly mentions her virginity, and exasperated, asks her to at least be wary. In that moment, he knows she won't shut herself off from Hamlet, so he hopes she'll at least go in with open eyes. She's of course not as naive as he thinks she is, as she proves when she takes his condoms out of his luggage and accuses him of being a reckless libertine.
A funny moment made possible by the modern dress, and speaking to a certain hypocrisy in Laertes.

Enter Polonius
Laertes quickly hides the condoms and covers his embarrassment with his "second leave" line (a refreshing break from its usual sarcasm), and soon the two children are rolling their eyes at their father's advice. At one point, he prompts them to finish his sentences (another excellent use of "passing off a line" in this adaptation). They've learned these proverbs by rote. On "rich, not gaudy", Polonius takes Laertes' colorful handkerchief from his breast pocket and throws it at Ophelia, which tells us the advice is specifically aimed at Laertes. It is so often played as a series of platitudes, it's easy to miss that Polonius might have chosen his words carefully. The condoms already showed he was sexually reckless and a hypocrite, and the handkerchief that he expresses himself in fancy. Can we thus infer that Polonius painted a portrait of him in his advice? Laertes thus: Gives his thoughts tongue and unproportioned thoughts an act; can be vulgar; dulls his palm with entertainment of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade; isn't very good in a quarrel, though tends to enter into them; gives few his ear, but too many his voice; takes few men's censure, but doesn't reserve his judgment; is a borrower and a lender. This reversal of Polonius' speech could be used as a template for a character that doesn't have very much stage time.

Another modernism: The second blessing is made in cash. We see more of Polonius' wrong-headed parenting here, as he replaces love with money, and then is aloof to Laertes' attempt to hug him goodbye.

In the Ophelia-Polonius exchange, Ophelia continues her smiling games, indicating that she doesn't take her father very seriously, and he's rather kind and benevolent to her, which makes it strange that she would really obey his wishes. Perhaps one must decide whether she is lying either here, when she proclaims chastity, or later, when she says she limited Hamlet's access to her. It allows Ophelia to say the words, but not mean them, and that's a legitimate (if difficult to show) way of staging it, especially for less innocent Ophelias.

Act I Scene 3 - Classics Illustrated

The Original
Because the wedding banquet was completely cut from the original Classics Illustrated, Scene 3 is where we meet the Polonius family for the first time, and in only two short panels:As you can see, narration covers the ground we missed, explaining the details of Laertes' trip as well as the gist of both parts of the scene. There is never very much to these, because the comic wants to get to the Ghost as quick as possible (being aimed at young boys), but the way the dialog is cut is interesting. Polonius only has time/room for one piece of advice before the classic "To thine own self" line. The adaptation has chosen "Give thy thoughts no tongue, not any unproportion'd thought his act", probably the most ironic in the context of "To thine own self". A judicious choice that highlights Polonius' harebrained hypocrisy.

The Berkley version
Mandrake gives the scene an entire page, but puts the focus on Polonius' talk with Ophelia rather than his advice to Laertes. The scene starts with "To thine own self" and quickly sends Laertes away. This removes some of Polonius' tediousness (for time/space), though the character trait will make its return in due course. A scene to be worked through, in this case, with no revelations of interest.

Act I Scene 3 - The Banquet

The Banquet has probably the best explanation for Ophelia being warned off Hamlet I've ever heard. It's all about politics, though in the play, no one would ever explain it to poor, innocent, apolitical Ophelia. But the father in The Banquet does:
When Hamlet Sr. was king, a match between Hamlet and Ophelia was a good thing for the Polonius family. Now that Claudius is king, and Hamlet has fallen out of favor with that regime, any alliance with the Prince may put the Polonius family in political jeopardy. Polonius is nothing if not a political creature. It also helps explain why Gertrude goes on about marrying Hamlet and Ophelia after the latter's suicide. On the Hamlet side of the family, this was seen as a good match. But Polonius would not have expected the same reaction from Claudius.

Speaking of Gertrude, the dialog here goes on to make a point about mirroring the play's two women:
"My heart will never change."
"Make it change. Learn from the Empress."
In this reimagining of the play, Ophelia's father asks her to change her heart, just as the State asked Gertrude to do the same (in line with the unwilling wife aspect of this version).

All interesting notions as we delve deeper into the play.

Act I Scene 3 - Fodor (2007)

Scene 3 is intercut with various parts of Scene 2, every introduction in the play occurring simultaneously. In one corner of the room, then, is a much transformed "Polonius family". Fodor has already introduced us to Ophelia in the film's opening, through her death. She's a pretty young girl looking distractedly around for Hamlet, annoyed at her brother's comments about him. In Fodor's short-lived chess metaphor, she is the Red Pawn, equivalent to Hamlet's White Pawn. This is a status we're used to see Ophelia in. Her brother Laertes is the Red Knight, an homologue of Horatio. If Ophelia is close to other interpretations (if a lot less respectful), Laertes is pretty far from the dutiful gentleman of the play. Plainly put, he is a brute with a street accent. He and Ophelia are mean to each other, showing none of the love and kindness we're used to, and his manner is somewhat threatening. She holds her own, but perhaps foolishly, if the next intervention is any indication. Enter Polonia, a female Polonius, now the elder sister of a parentless family. She represents a massive change from the play. Dubbed the Red Queen, she becomes an equivalent to Gertrude. It is true that in the play, Gertrude and Polonius both have Claudius' ear. Heart and mind, if you will. In this version, however, Polonia becomes a surrogate wife/mistress. Polonia is only different in gender, but also in attitude. As written here, her manipulative side is played up, and gone is the usual foolishness of the old man. She's at Claudius' side when she sees what could become a violence altercation between her younger siblings and moves there immediately. At the sight of her, Laertes brightens, and her opening lines ("for shame, for shame") are used to changed the subject. It's not clear at this point if Laertes has an unnatural attitude towards Ophelia, but his relationship to Polonia is certainly disturbing. Before he leaves, she gives him a steamy kiss on the cheek that makes us believe she routinely controls him with sex. How far has this gone? By the end of Scene 3, you will be ready to believe anything of this thoroughly corrupt character. The look on her face as he leaves for "France" tells us she will miss him, and the way she then turns on Ophelia may be motivated by jealousy for the younger, prettier sister. The overall sense, however, is that of a character thriving on control. For all her seductive appeal, she treats Laertes like a little boy, handing out advice to someone who's not much younger than her. When she says "By no means vulgar", she knows that's exactly what he is (he is also quarrelsome, so he's probably a borrower, etc.). These are accusations nonetheless followed by "To thine own self be true", which sounds like Polonia is justifying her own selfishness. Once he's gone, she asks Ophelia what they were discussing. Things are getting out of her control, and she must get back in the game. What were they discussing that almost unleashed her brother's fury? What kind of (unwitting) control does Ophelia have over him? As soon as she knows, she calms down. Information is the power she thrives on. Despite the change in gender, this is a performance/editing choice that is valid for Polonius. He too has a manipulative side, and playing it up highlights the foolishness of power for its own sake. That manipulation is also expressed in the way Fodor edits the film, with Hamlet's White Pawn card cut in when Polonia hears his name. Ophelia is nothing of the sort. She flashes to better times when they talk about Hamlet, brief moments that look quite innocent and even demure. The party ends, people pass out, but the scene doesn't end there. We find the two sisters in a darkened room, some time later. Polonia speaks her order not to see Hamlet as she preps Ophelia's arm for a shot of heroin. The way she controls Ophelia is no less disturbing than how she controls Laertes. As ever, the Ghost watches. This ties into the opening and Ophelia's overdose, and may mean he is visible to someone under the drug's influence, at death's door, or is Ophelia's hallucination (especially if we take the film as her last moments' vision).

Act I Scene 3 - Hamlet 2000

Ophelia is looking at a polaroid of Hamlet (in better days, apparently, when they were taking pictures of each other) when Laertes walks in. There is no goodbye here, only the warning to avoid Hamlet. It seems his only reason to be there. He is emotional, while Ophelia is impatient if rather silent with him. Her expression on the mention of her virginity is that of hurt outrage. This is a difficult point for more modern retellings (and the reason I don't think Romeo + Juliet works AT ALL): Today's attitudes do not put such a price on either virginity or "true love". In this urban modern world, at her age, Ophelia should already not be so "innocent", not with an older boyfriend in the picture. It is possible that she never had relations with Hamlet or anyone, mind you, but unlikely in the context of the film. If she isn't a maid, are her family members deluding themselves, preventing her from growing up in their own minds? Is the hurt outrage in part disbelief that her brother would take this view? This remains ambiguous at this point.

A word on "Polonius' house" - in actuality, a set of rooms inside the Elsinore building - because it is such a strange space. Austere and white, it offers various levels (at least three) of shelves filled with books. His children's rooms are part of this library, visually having them grow up oppressed by his "wisdom", much as a they submit to his advice in the play. We may or may not infer something of each character's place within the family from which level they are on. When we'll see Polonius in a second, he'll be on the top level, ruling over the family. Laertes is strangely at the bottom, but Ophelia is such a cause for concern, she may well be more important than he is in those terms. In any case, it puts Ophelia in between the two men, which is exactly right. On one of the walls is an odd assembly of praying figures(?) that lends interest to the shot, but remains mysterious.
Ophelia's first lines in this version are the "I shall the effect of this good lesson keep" speech, which substitutes "recks not his own rede" with "recks not his own creed" (as 1948's Hamlet did). This makes the line more accessible to modern audiences, but perhaps also widens the scope of who Laertes fails to listen to. His own rede is his own voice, but his own creed includes both Ophelia and Polonius.
Speaking of which, Polonius then enters from above, looks absent-mindedly at the picture of Hamlet and continues shouting out his blessing even as his son flees the room. He lets out a whimper, as if he really wants to talk to Ophelia about this, but needs to deal with his son first, before he leaves. Throughout the following exchange, there's a sense that Polonius remains distracted by that thought of Hamlet (he HAS seen something going on between them in the previous scene). It's a lovely comic, but true to life, performance from Bill Murray. Polonius is a meddler, and this is presented in the way he helps Laertes pack his bags. He doesn't trust his children to do well by themselves (and perhaps he's right, Laertes IS late after all). Ophelia, meanwhile, takes pictures from above.

When discussing Kline's version, I spoke at some length of the concept of a Polonius who doesn't really listen. In the wake of that discussion, I can't help but hear further irony in the line "Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice", just another example of the character's unselfconscious hypocrisy. The goodbye ends on an awkward hug, again complemented by Murray's comic timing.
"Reserve thy judgment", he has just said, but it looks like he's judging his son too sentimental with only a look (I couldn't quite capture it with my DVD software). Laertes gives Ophelia a hug too, and steals a small comb from her hair even as she doesn't quite respond to his affection. What could be Laertes' unnatural feelings towards his sister are explored here much as they are in his every mention of her hymen. As for her reaction, it differs from most performances by taking out Ophelia's own affection for her brother. But this Ophelia has a more modern reaction to denied love: Bitterness at being told what to do, but more than that, melancholy indicated by complete apathy and disaffection. She and Hamlet are more alike (and compatible?) in that sense. If he grieves for his father, she grieves for him.

The thought of Hamlet and Ophelia together must have eaten at Polonius for a good while, because we now cut to Scene 4 (Hamlet's meeting with the Ghost that night) before returning to the end of Scene 3. It is another day, she's listening to "movie phone" as part of her disaffection (on the phone, but not talking to anyone) and her shoelace is undone (she is distracted). Meddling Polonius, in the habit of fixing things for his children, sits her down and ties it for her.
The idea here is that she is a little girl and has been so sheltered that she really isn't very well equipped to deal with life. The bars on the windows are not lost on this viewer either. In telling her she can't see Hamlet anymore, Polonius is firm as a parent would be with a child, but seems meaner because he's really dealing with a young adult. This creates a cognitive dissonance that once again taps into "time is out of joint", with the characters' ages seemingly out of proportion with their roles.

Act I Scene 3 - Kline '90

At 38, Diane Venora is a bit old to play Ophelia (but perfect for Getrude in Hamlet 2000 at 48... why do so many Ophelias later return as Gertrudes?). I mention it because it has an impact on her performance. This Ophelia has a maturity that is at odds with the lines' naivety. Her family's interference thus seems to come more from the role of women in earlier cultures than of any wish to protect a young girl from harm. Other characters come off as condescending to her, rather than protective of her. As we come into Scene 3, she is reading one of Hamlet's notes, which she hides when Laertes comes in.
Its discover a few moments later will be the motivation for his warnings, removing the awkward fascination with her virginity. When Laertes does mention it, she stops his mouth, outraged that he would so inappropriately throw it into a conversation. From this reaction, we can believe in her virginity. She would seem to espouse puritanical ideals also carried by Hamlet's Wittenberg education. Her own warning not to heed his own words teases less here than in other performances. She has been insulted by his speech and keeps a sharp edge to her own, even if he smiles right through it. We get the feeling no one much listens to Ophelia.

She retrieves the note from Laertes and stuffs it in her busom just as Polonius walks in. As his father goes through his advice, Laertes is tensely patient with him, but it's Polonius' character that is revealed here. At one point, he stares into the distance and his dialogue becomes a monologue.
Josef Sommer plays Polonius as a man in love with his own words. He is entranced and chuckles at his own cleverness. It doesn't matter that his son scarcely needs this advice, his wisdom must be spoken for its own sake. And though he is later kind and benevolent towards his daughter, he doesn't really hear her when she speaks. His mind is taken up by platitudes he's read somewhere, or clever logic of his own. That mind cannot be changed because of vanity. How could he possibly be wrong? This is an attitude Polonius carries through the play, which makes Sommer's choices astute and appropriate.

Shakespeare critic Harold Bloom argues that Shakespeare's genius lies in his characters talking to themselves, HEARING themselves and changing through that act of hearing. I think this idea speaks to Polonius' foolishness. He is a fool in the play because though he talks a lot, he does not hear himself anymore than he hears others. Or else he would become aware of the irony of his comments and of his hypocrisy. "To thine own self be true" suddenly becomes an indictment of his own pig-headedness. Every good advice has its dark side, in this case, self-love.

Ophelia, for her part, tries to sell Hamlet's love to her father, in the most glowing of terms, but he'll have none of it. He seems to care what she thinks ("Do you believe his tenders...?"), but isn't really listening. After he leaves her, Hamlet is in her thoughts, as his image cross fades into hers.
In this version, it doesn't seem sincere when she agrees not to see Hamlet again. How does that affect our perception of Hamlet's madness scene in her boudoir? We'll have to see later.

Act I Scene 3 - Zeffirelli '90

Ophelia is played by Helena Bonham Carter, looking very young for her 24 years of age in this picture, an impression supported by the acting and costuming. Bonham Carter plays the character with a mercurial hold on her emotions. Tearing up readily, but also laughing childishly, moving in and out of each mood quite easily. It's a characterization that befits her later madness, but seems a product of her age at this point. Like a child, she looks down when chided, avoids looking at her father and brother directly when she doesn't want to hear what they're saying. There's a petulance to her attitude that tries to get away with the things she's been forbidden to do. As for the costume, the white symbolizes rather broadly her innocence, but also prefigures the nunnery speech. As Laertes speaks to her, she scratches at a leaf she's embroidered, playing on the plant motif associated with Ophelia (even without the "green girl" line).

Laertes, for his part, walks in and talks about Hamlet with a strong sense of urgency. In this version, we have a Laertes who seems desperate for his sister not to fall for Hamlet, although his lines are cut before there's talk of her virginity. It's less seedy that way, although Ophelia's apparent youth does a lot of the work to still get that point across. So it seems the House of Polonius is only really worried that Hamlet's enduring melancholy makes him a bad match for Ophelia. Not an unnatural thought. Is Hamlet only drawn to Ophelia because he's in pain and she offers comfort? When he wakes from the grief, will he then no longer need or want her? By removing the family's obession with her maidenhead, the scene seems more familiar and natural. Laertes is merely urgent because this is a matter he wishes to resolve before he leaves.

Ian Holm is Polonius
As the discussion moves outside, Polonius comes shouting and hits Laertes with his many pieces of advice. Laertes does not listen, moving towards his horse as his father runs behind, losing breath. He drones on an on, either ignored or chuckled at by his children. Polonius is more of a dotard here than in some other versions, which is too bad given Holm's acting ability. I chalk it down to the many cuts suffered by the play in this film, which in Polonius' case, tend to rob him of his dark side. We are left with an old fool few really listen to (or do at their own peril). And he isn't helped by the costume design. When he talks about "rich not gaudy" apparel, it's hard to understand why he would. Everything is so drab in this Elsinore that he seems to chide his son for wearing a single broach. And if the "apparely oft proclaims the man", what should we make of his black robes? He is far less sinister than such a thing should indicate.

As Laertes leaves, we have a shift for both remaining characters. Ophelia darkens. From her perspective, the play is about loss, and Laertes is the first to go (second if we count her mother, third if she knew Hamlet Sr. at all). Laertes' departure is the first step towards leaving her alone and vulnerable in Elsinore. Polonius becomes more manipulative here, capable of quiet study and parental outrage and anger. This is not a side to him Zeffirelli allows us to see very often, but of course, Holm plays it wonderfully. The question this asks if whether Polonius treats Laertes and Ophelia differently, which of course he must. A later scene in the play (but not in the film) shows him meddling in his son's affairs as well, but here we're left with the impression that it's the classic double-standard for male and female progeny. The son seems to have mastered the father and is in charge of his own destiny (has has convinced Polonius to let him leave), while the daughter must remain in her father's control.

There's a nice moment from Bonham Carter in this section: When Hamlet's love is put in doubt, a look flits across her face that says she really DOESN'T know what to think. She's never really thought about it, or never wanted to. She is simple-minded when it comes to affairs of love, though she defends her stake in the relationship. When she finally obeys, there is anger and revolt in her voice, not penitence. What is her unspoken threat? That she WILL see Hamlet after all? That she'll make life miserable for her father? None of this can really be explored within the text.

Hamlet the stalker
Speaking of the text, Zeffirelli abandons it for a complete invention: He has Hamlet overhear most of this scene. This isn't too far out of the play's reach, since people are constantly listening behind and arras in the play, but Shakespeare still did not mean him to be present. He comes in on "hoops of steal", ironically the "friend" Polonius refers to, and follows along from the high ground and hears both Laertes and Polonius warn Ophelia away from him, and he hears her say she will obey. What effect does this have on the story and the character? It perhaps speaks to the question of whether Hamlet is mad or not in the play. Knowing about this piece of family drama, Hamlet may in fact stage his mad farewell to Ophelia. Hamlet is less mad, though more ruthless, if he does so. No longer a scene occurring in private whose purpose is to cut ties with Ophelia lest she be mixed up in the vengeance plot, what Hamlet learns in this scene may turn it into a savage manipulation of Polonius through his weak point (Ophelia). Consider how he then consistently uses Ophelia against her father. We'll have to examine Mel Gibson's performance closely to see just how much he resents either Polonius or Ophelia for this abortion of his love life.

Act I Scene 3 - BBC '80

The BBC presentation sets Scene 3 on the docks, created simply but effectively with the white studio walls, a false horizon, a few sailor extras and seagull sound effects. Laertes' departure is more immediate, and consequently, emotions perhaps flare more hotly. This is our first introduction to Ophelia, played by Lalla Ward, which I find immensely distracting personally because of her connection to Doctor Who (in which she played the Time Lady Romana opposite Tom Baker's Doctor). At 29, Lalla is a bit old to play the part, something she shares with other leading ladies in the BBC's Shakespeare series (Penelope Wilton in Othello, for example). What you gain in acting experience, you lose in the character's necessary naivety. Necessary? That's the question here. Lalla's Ophelia seems wiser than others' - she doesn't try to play the "green girl" - so at this point at least, it is a legitimate performance choice. She is thoughtful to the point of making us wonder if she and Hamlet HAVE consummated their relationship. Her fleeting smiles seem designed to pacify her brother and father, deflect attention from her guilt. She looks away, or at her feet, often. She has something to hide.

Eric Porter's Polonius is younger and more robust than the usual actors cast in the role, which makes him seem less of a dotard. There's a kindness there, and between all three family members, that feels genuine even through remonstrances. As he gives Laertes advice, Ophelia is seen in the background. She is beaming at first, smiling at her father's ways, but soon turns dour at the mention of a quarrel. Does this remind her suddenly that she and her brother just had a disagreement? Not that she disagreed outwardly much, but inwardly, there's another story crossing her face.

As Laertes says his final goodbyes (accompanied by one of those awkward kisses on the lips), Polonius is listening. This is what sparks the next part of the scene and paints Polonius as an eavesdropper.
This is a trait that blooms later. Nice of the staging to include here, where so often, it just seems like Laertes is being careless, or else doesn't think it's a private matter. Polonius' kindness carries through to his talk with Ophelia. He knows he's hurting his daughter by preventing her from seeing Hamlet, but sincerely believes it's for her own good. Though he's a touch patronizing, he consoles rather than chides.
"I'm really sorry about this" is written on his face throughout. This wiser Ophelia still obeys, but there is a sense that Polonius must plead with her to do so. She obeys out of love and respect for him, not out of fear. This gives her more power than she is usually afforded in the play, and we'll see how that impacts the rest of her scenes. In keeping with this idea, Polonius does show surprise that she speaks "like a green girl", evidently expecting more rational thought from her. It remains to be seen of Lalla Ward is miscast or an attempt to put Ophelia closer to Hamlet's maturity level.

Act I Scene 3 - Olivier '48

The camera, mobile as ever, tracks through a corridor and finds Laertes seeking his sister out, as lyrical music plays. This is our first introduction to a lovely young Jean Simmons as Ophelia. Simmons plays her as a dreamer, slightly naive and child-like. Her family may well have cause to fear for her. Flower patterns on the walls and an open window (with a strange landscape if we're high up on a cliff) place her in nature. The association to flowers is well exploited in her madness and suicide, and for the first time, I note here there is a pun on that idea in the text - she is a "green girl".
Laertes catches her reading a note from Hamlet (perhaps the very note that Polonius later reads the the King and Queen), which gives him occasion to warn her off the moody prince. This is a departure from other representations. It makes Laertes less unnaturally obsessed with his sister's virginity. He doesn't broach the subject without provocation. This allows for a kinder and gentler relationship with Ophelia. She is not chided, but kindly advised, which fits her teasing manner later. Speaking of which, "Do not, [...] Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven" strikes me for the first time as foreshadowing. By warning her off Hamlet, he sows the seeds of her destruction. At least, that is how she may later interpret events. Her death, implied in the way to heaven, will be a difficult one.

She hides the note as her father arrives to gives his blessing and advice. To highlight her childishness, Olivier has Ophelia punctuate her father's advice with gestures. Pixie-like, she smiles and teases her brother through the whole speech. It's quite entertaining. It starts with "familiar not vulgar" as she puts her hand on her brother's shoulder as a sister would. On "hoops of steel", she hugs him tightly.
The talk of a quarrel has her pulling at his dagger. On "apparel", she tugs at his collar. And on the topic of lending and borrowing, she teasingly fishes into his purse. A very nice way to stage a scene that might otherwise be tedious (directors and actors must continually fight against Polonius' tediousness), making a point about Ophelia herself in the process.

After Laertes leaves, Polonius interrogates his daughter about Laertes' counsel and thus, about Hamlet. And again, it's much kinder than in other versions. When he tells her she speaks like a "green girl, Unsifted in such perilous circumstance", his tone is not that of surprise. That's what she IS. It's the answer he expected, and now he will tell her how things really are. Again, subtly different line readings and performances bring new interpretations to the fore, which I had not considered just looking at the text. Ophelia HAS to be "green" (or seen to be so), or else she would not need her family to protect her virginity. So there is no outrage at her naivety from Polonius, only statement of fact.

As previously mentioned, Olivier breaks Scene 2 up after the soliloquy to insert Scene 3. This is frequently done to get all the introductions out as early as possible, but in this case, there's more going on.
By overlapping the two scenes, Ophelia gets to glimpse the melancholy Hamlet from a distance (post-soliloquy but pre-meeting Horatio). It's a silent goodbye that creates a relationship between the two (as with Branagh's flashbacks). The play doesn't give us a happy moment between the lovers before things start to go wrong. Any happiness between them is only spoken of and not seen. Why is a question we might try to answer at some point.

Act I Scene 3 - Branagh '96

Though the scene is meant to take place in Polonius' house, this is very rarely done in the films. Branagh goes for the outside of the palace and in fact uses the entire scene to establish more of the world of Elsinore. We've seen the gates in Scene 1, and the throne room, study and secret doors in Scene 2. In Scene 3, we move outside and see castle exterior, as well as the chapel, where other scenes will later take place. Laertes and Ophelia have a tender and playful relationship, hugging as they walk, slapping each other with gloves, laughing, smiling and teasing (both each other and their father). One thing I notice from having Michael Maloney do the entire speech is that he's his father's son. Not only do the two have the same misgivings about Hamlet seeing Ophelia, but Laertes is perhaps just as tedious as his father. He makes his point, then makes it again, and Maloney is pitch perfect in his taking a breather only to jump on the same point again. On Branagh's end, when he has to change shots, he uses a dissolve instead of a cut, which makes it look like Laertes has been talking for hours.

At one point, the pair see Hamlet from afar, supervising fencers and in essence, setting up how the duel at the end will be fought.
Here and upon leaving at scene's end, Laertes seems overwhelmed with a sense of destiny. He is distracted at the sight of Hamlet and rapiers, and when he says goodbye, it's as if he might never see his family again. We know the story well, even its characters can't be too oblivious about it.

Polonius then arrives and another dissolve takes us into the chapel where Polonius delivers his famous advice. It's a jarring piece of editing that makes you wonder if it's a flashback, except that at the end, Laertes refers to his warning about Hamlet which took place in the previous section. Apparently, weather conditions forced the production into interiors, but the effect is still strange. I'll forgive a lot of things like this based on the line "Time is out of joint" however. Richard Briers puts just the right emphasis on "To thine own self be true", and the churchly surroundings lend the speech the sound of a sermon.

Though there is a "churlish priest" in Hamlet, he is not seen before Ophilia's burial. By then, Polonius is dead. Priests in Shakespeare are frequently advisers and councilors, so placing Polonius in a chapel gives him that role, even if he subverts it. He is councilor to an evil man. He advises his son with platitudes, and his daughter against love. This is something that subtly runs through this version of the play, and I'll mention it from time to time.

Before Laertes leaves, he kisses his sister once more. Does this look more romantic than it should?
If there is something off putting about brother and sister kissing, it's because it's not much seen in contemporary culture. I generally dislike the Freudian tendency to suggest incest in the play, but Laertes and Ophelia kissing does translate something modern audiences may not get from the words themselves. Visually, the kisses suggest that Laertes and Polonius' concerns about Ophelia's virginity are a bit unnatural. Whether that's a modern interpretation and not relevant to Shakespeare's day (when virginity was more highly prized) I'll leave to the reader. Branagh seems to suggest that something is off about these relationships and about their closeness.

When Laertes finally leaves, Polonius closes the gates behind him and addresses Ophelia about this Hamlet business. That shot creates a much darker Polonius than we're used to.
As written, Polonius IS a much darker character, but cuts to the text remove much of this from the character. Here, he is a foreboding figure, one to be feared by Ophelia, who after all, is vulnerable in this world of men and politics. He soon throws her into the confessional (used by Claudius later) and, again the perverse priest, forces a confession out of her.
This small act of violence harks to such as lines as "to cut his throat i' the church". The confession isn't really one since Ophelia says nothing's going on. And as written, that may be true. Branagh intercuts the scene with a flashback to a sex scene, showing that Ophelia is lying to her father. Flashes of this are seen on words such as "tenders" (visualizing the double entendre), "blood burns" and "tongue", all eroticized in Ophelia's mind. And while at first it might seem ambiguous - is it Polonius' imagination or Ophelia's memory? - Ophelia is eventually left alone with those thoughts, so they are hers. Interestingly, "I shall obey" is said in voice-over after Polonius leaves. So while she may have been lying when she said nothing was going on, she ISN'T lying about obeying her father.

Act I Scene 3

Though Laertes had lines in Scene 2, Scene 3 is our first real introduction the characters of Ophelia and Polonius. In the latter, we have the third image of fatherhood in the play, and if Hamlet and Laertes are to be contrasted, we need to also contrast Polonius with Claudius (also Laertes' other father) and Hamlet Sr. In Scene 3, Shakespeare gives us the second of three fathers counseling their children. Claudius chided Hamlet and asked him to stay in Scene 2 and the Ghost will spur Hamlet to revenge in Scene 4. In Scene 3, Polonius does the reverse for each of his children. He sends Laertes with doting advice, and forbids Ophelia to fulfill her destiny. Though the most "present" father in the play, his influence also tends to be the weakest.

As for Ophelia, is she to be a contrast to Gertrude? There's an interesting inversion in the play where the young hot-blooded girl is kept chase and the more mature, "tamer" woman is a wanton. In the following lines, the relationship between all three members of the Polonius family (and if I speak of inversions, it's that it is an inversed Hamlet family, with the mother dead) are introduced to the reader/viewer. I will cut in when something catches my attention. Shakespeare is the one in italics. Oh, and the brilliant one.

SCENE III. A room in Polonius' house.
Enter LAERTES and OPHELIA

LAERTES: My necessaries are embark'd: farewell:
And, sister, as the winds give benefit
And convoy is assistant, do not sleep,
But let me hear from you.
OPHELIA: Do you doubt that?
LAERTES: For Hamlet and the trifling of his favour,
Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood,
A violet in the youth of primy nature,
Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting,
The perfume and suppliance of a minute; No more.

The position of Ophelia in the play is very weak, often thought of as an object manipulated by men, caught between her father's and brother's will, Claudius' schemes and Hamlet's love. The very first time she speaks, she is ignored. Laertes does not actually answer her question, but instead follows his own train of thought and warns her against Hamlet. Note also the use of "violet" here, a flower we return to in Ophelia's madness. The violet is described as impermanent and fleeting, and Ophelia later comes back to this image with the violets that all wilted when her father died. This double use creates a link between the two scene between Ophelia and her brother. Love is fleeting (here) as is life (there), and by implication so is Ophelia's health and sanity. Like the violet, Ophelia is "in the youth of primy nature". She too is "sweet". And like most characters in the play, her life is impermanent.

OPHELIA: No more but so?
LAERTES: Think it no more;
For nature, crescent, does not grow alone
In thews and bulk, but, as this temple waxes,
The inward service of the mind and soul
Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now,
And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch
The virtue of his will: but you must fear,
His greatness weigh'd, his will is not his own;
For he himself is subject to his birth:
He may not, as unvalued persons do,
Carve for himself; for on his choice depends
The safety and health of this whole state;
And therefore must his choice be circumscribed
Unto the voice and yielding of that body
Whereof he is the head. Then if he says he loves you,
It fits your wisdom so far to believe it
As he in his particular act and place
May give his saying deed; which is no further
Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal.
Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain,
If with too credent ear you list his songs,
Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open
To his unmaster'd importunity.

Laertes invokes Hamlet's royal destiny here. The idea that Hamlet's will is not, ultimately, his own stands in stark opposition to "To thine own self be true" (a line I will come back to in due course). As the play unfolds, Hamlet will continually stop himself short of fulfilling his destiny, whether we're talking about avenging his father or becoming King of Denmark.

Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister,
And keep you in the rear of your affection,
Out of the shot and danger of desire.
The chariest maid is prodigal enough,
If she unmask her beauty to the moon:
Virtue itself 'scapes not calumnious strokes:
The canker galls the infants of the spring,
Too oft before their buttons be disclosed,
And in the morn and liquid dew of youth
Contagious blastments are most imminent.

More imagery related to a corrupted natural world, as spring is subverted in Denmark's unweeded garden. The play does tend to show sexuality as a corruptive element. Laertes and Polonius do not wish to see Ophelia stained, and Claudius sleeps in incestuous sheets. Those that obviously had sex before the start of the play are either dead (the Ghost and Ophelia's mother) or doomed to die (Getrude and Polonius). Perhaps they are right to steer Ophelia away from it, and Hamlet is later right to push her to go to a nunnery. She does not, and she dies.

Be wary then; best safety lies in fear:
Youth to itself rebels, though none else near.
OPHELIA: I shall the effect of this good lesson keep,
As watchman to my heart. But, good my brother,
Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven;
Whiles, like a puff'd and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,
And recks not his own rede.

Ophelia's warning about hypocrisy is a recurring theme in the play. We'll soon have the notoriously foolish Polonius impart his wisdom to Laertes, and otherwise have a number of characters lying to Hamlet and to others, feigning to be what they are not.

LAERTES: O, fear me not.
I stay too long: but here my father comes.

Enter POLONIUS

A double blessing is a double grace,
Occasion smiles upon a second leave.

POLONIUS : Yet here, Laertes! aboard, aboard, for shame!
The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail,
And you are stay'd for. There; my blessing with thee!

Polonius gets his first proper scene and it's one that highlights his foolishness. He chides his son for being tardy and then sits him down for a long chat. Polonius gets it wrong for the first, but certainly not the last, time. Polonius is written with dramatic irony in mind, and characterized as tedious (at his most benign) or pompous (at his least). The advice that follows was meant to parody the maxim writers of the Elizabethan Age, equivalent to today's slogan-happy self-help books, but Shakespeare comments on the play at the same time.

And these few precepts in thy memory
See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,
Nor any unproportioned thought his act.

For example, here. Hamlet will struggle with this for most of the play, trying to understand the true "proportion" his thoughts and actions.

Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.
Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel;

How does this relate to the bond between Laertes and Hamlet? Though they have a falling out, their souls are in the end bound together, following each other closely to the afterlife.

But do not dull thy palm with entertainment
Of each new-hatch'd, unfledged comrade. Beware

And is this a reference to the Laertes-Claudius partnership? The dangling "Beware" is as much for this as for the next line.

Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,
Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.

"Beware of entrance to a quarrel", the exact event that leads to Laertes' undoing.

Give every man thy ear, but few thy voice;
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment.
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy;
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine own self be true,

There we have it. Each of Shakespeare's great plays, I find, has a line hidden in it that expresses its theme. And I say hidden because it seems to come early and in a context that doesn't draw attention to it. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, it's "they stumble that run fast". In Hamlet, it's "To thine own self be true". This is the advice that Hamlet does not follow and that causes the tragedy.

And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell: my blessing season this in thee!
LAERTES: Most humbly do I take my leave, my lord.
POLONIUS: The time invites you; go; your servants tend.
LAERTES: Farewell, Ophelia; and remember well
What I have said to you.
OPHELIA: 'Tis in my memory lock'd,
And you yourself shall keep the key of it.
LAERTES: Farewell.

Exit

POLONIUS: What is't, Ophelia, be hath said to you?
OPHELIA: So please you, something touching the Lord Hamlet.
POLONIUS: Marry, well bethought:
'Tis told me, he hath very oft of late
Given private time to you; and you yourself
Have of your audience been most free and bounteous:
If it be so, as so 'tis put on me,
And that in way of caution, I must tell you,
You do not understand yourself so clearly
As it behoves my daughter and your honour.
What is between you? give me up the truth.
OPHELIA: He hath, my lord, of late made many tenders
Of his affection to me.
POLONIUS: Affection! pooh! you speak like a green girl,
Unsifted in such perilous circumstance.
Do you believe his tenders, as you call them?
OPHELIA: I do not know, my lord, what I should think.
POLONIUS: Marry, I'll teach you: think yourself a baby;
That you have ta'en these tenders for true pay,
Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly;
Or--not to crack the wind of the poor phrase,
Running it thus--you'll tender me a fool.
OPHELIA: My lord, he hath importuned me with love
In honourable fashion.
POLONIUS: Ay, fashion you may call it; go to, go to.
OPHELIA: And hath given countenance to his speech, my lord,
With almost all the holy vows of heaven.
POLONIUS: Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know,

Yet another image of nature subverted. A couple of things jump out in the wake of Polonius' speech to Laertes. For one thing, Polonius is a hypocryte. Having told Laertes to be true to himself, he forbids the same to Ophelia. He once again sets himself up to "get it wrong" by instigating the factor he will later believe is the cause of Hamlet's madness. His portrayal of Hamlet as a sexual predator is also contradicted by the rest of the play (though directors coud choose to play this differently).

When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul
Lends the tongue vows: these blazes, daughter,
Giving more light than heat, extinct in both,
Even in their promise, as it is a-making,
You must not take for fire. From this time
Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence;
Set your entreatments at a higher rate
Than a command to parley. For Lord Hamlet,
Believe so much in him, that he is young
And with a larger tether may he walk
Than may be given you: in few, Ophelia,
Do not believe his vows; for they are brokers,
Not of that dye which their investments show,
But mere implorators of unholy suits,
Breathing like sanctified and pious bawds,
The better to beguile. This is for all:
I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth,
Have you so slander any moment leisure,
As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet.
Look to't, I charge you: come your ways.
OPHELIA: I shall obey, my lord.

Exeunt

Polonius is a lot harsher than Laertes. Where the brother didn't doubt that Hamlet loved her NOW, the father is convinced he never has. Both of them worry a great deal about Ophelia's virginity (which today adds to the unnaturalness of the play, but was a fairly common concern back in the day), but we have to wonder why. As the play will show, Gertrude had earmarked Ophelia to be Hamlet's wife, and certainly the Polonius family was closely tied to Hamlet's. If there's a concept of having to marry another country's princess to forge an alliance, it's not mentioned in the play. It does not seem to be a way to resolve the conflict with Norway, which is populated only with male characters. We're left with more questions. HAS there been something going on and so, Ophelia is lying? Polonius' command that she should not even SPEAK with Hamlet... Is that because he worries Hamlet will turn her against him and Claudius? What does he know about Claudius' ascension that we don't? Or is he simply worried that Hamlet's mental instability will cause problems for her? In a less sinister vein, having lost a wife, does he simply not want to lose the daughter that is taking care of him in his old age?

Directors will sometimes try to give us a clue as to his motivation. Something to watch.