Royal Deceit

REVIEW
What a waste. An excellent cast, along with a capable director, fail to enliven this D.O.A. version of Hamlet, the mad prince of Denmark (based on the folk tales, not the Shakespeare play). Bale hardly registers as the surprisingly decisive lad who fakes madness upon learning his uncle (a somnambulistic Byrne) has murdered his father. Maddeningly choppy, with all the good parts cut out, Royal Deceit was obviously a much longer film hacked down by its theatrical distributor Miramax. What remains plays like a late-night Cinemax version of Hamlet with rampant gratuitous nudity, boring dialogue, and clunky action that strains to be artsy-retro.