Grand Theft Hamlet: Movie Review

The world of Grand Theft Auto doesn't sound like it would lend itself to a Shakespeare soliloquy, being more concerned as it is with random violence, theft and general mayhem.

But it's against this backdrop and the Covid-19 pandemic that struggling out of work actors Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen decide to stage a performance, after spending hours in the game and just seemingly randomly stumbling across a large Hollywood Bowl style theatre in the fictional world of Los Santos.

Yet realising they can't concoct a production without a troupe, they start randomly approaching online players of the game and trying to persuade them to audition.

It's no surprise where Grand Theft Hamlet ends up - but the journey to its somewhat inevitable conclusion is actually a poignant one that produces some laugh-out loud moments as well as some heartfelt ones. Perhaps there's an argument that some of the scenes feel a little scripted (something a Written by credit does little to dispel and a seemingly staged argument within the game adds fuel to the fire of) but most of what transpires in the doco is actually entertaining while tugging at heartstrings.

Shot entirely in the world of Los Santos in all its pixelated glory, Grand Theft Hamlet offers ruminations of life while fixating on its avatar characters. Whether it's the "To Be or Not To Be" speech or seeing characters show up randomly in helicopters or flash vehicles to auditions, there's a kind of low key lunacy to proceedings.

But yet there are also scenes where Mark reveals the horror of the pandemic on him as he provides insight to living alone in a bubble as Sam finds solace in escaping his family with the game.

If you're versed in Rockstar Games' ultra-popular game, you'll get a hearty amount of humour from random NPC comments at the most inappropriate times, or marvel at how cinematic some of the sunset vistas still look on screen.
What emerges from Grand Theft Hamlet is an affirmation once again of the community of computer games, of how complete unknowns can either provide camaraderie or chaos from behind their own screens.

Montages of main characters being wasted by random other players initially prove to be hilarious, but hint wildly at how unhappy the lack of connection multiplayer games can leave casual players like Sam and Mark who are just aching for a connection - be it for work or for emotional pull.
The moments that feel staged ever so slightly drag you out of the narrative - an argument in particular between Sam and his partner over his forgetting her birthday completely feels at odds given they live in the same household - but these scenes are fleeting thankfully.

There's a perversity to the film's more surreal moments - such as Hamlet's speech in a virtual dive bar, or rehearsals in a building being rocked by explosions. But in a wider context, there's a lot here about the continuing human need for connection, and the lack thereof in today's modern world.
Well, providing you don't get shot by a random player wearing a full pink Power Rangers body suit...

Grand Theft Hamlet is playing at the Whanau Marama: The New Zealand International Film Festival - for more info, go to nziff.co.nz