SXSW FILM FESTIVAL 2024 REVIEW! One of the last businesses to open after the pandemic ended was theater. Actors spent the most time in their homes worrying about their next paycheck and wondering if they’d ever return to the stage. With little to do, two actors meet up in Grand Theft Auto Online and put on a show in Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane’s documentary, Grand Theft Hamlet.
First, the entire film takes place in the video game Grand Theft Auto. After being shut down for the third time in London, actors Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen had been doing odd little shorts on Grand Theft Auto akin to Red vs. Blue. While online together, they discover an open-air theater like the Hollywood Bowl, and both wonder if they could perform a play together. As they test the waters on this virtual stage, the performance goes awry when a stranger passes by and murders the pair.
The joy in Grand Theft Hamlet is that it demands your attention from start to finish. To truly appreciate its dramatic impact, you must witness the story unfold before your eyes. So, no spoilers.
I’ve never played Grand Theft Auto Online, but I’ve played MMOs before. The uniqueness of the film comes in that two very serious actors are trying to turn GTA into a very serious environment for the craft. It’s not a joke, and it’s all done in complete earnestness.
Performing Hamlet in a virtual environment is sometimes more complicated than it looks and taxing on the spirit. For Mark, he’s alone in this world with no family to be with during lockdown. This production is the only thing he has to look forward to. Sam is married to the film’s director, Pinny, and at one point, she complains that the only time she spends with Sam is GTA. This is the heart of the film.
“…the performance goes awry when a stranger passes by and murders the pair.”
Sam and Mark’s biggest obstacle is the audition process, trying to find, within the realm of GTA, a small sliver who likes to perform Shakespeare. Most of the auditions are attended by curious onlookers, who immediately murder Sam and Mark when they get bored.
The film has one central paradox: trying to build the world of Hamlet within the world of Grand Theft Auto. I’m not sure you would consider Sam and Mark hardcore GTA players. Still, their knowledge and familiarity hardly make them look like newbies compared to Pinny’s first-time experience on camera.
Shot entirely within GTA Online, the film will feel familiar to game fans, and those unfamiliar with it will never feel lost. In fact, it might serve as an advertisement for the game. The filmmakers seamlessly blend this virtual world with a bit of reality into their real struggles during COVID-19. There are moments when the focus is on the game’s NPCs for a bit of Shakespearean poignancy.
Ultimately, we witness an acting community’s evolution throughout the film. Then there’s all the blood and violence when the police randomly show up.
Grand Theft Hamlet is a crazy film that appeals to a vast audience and could damn well introduce Shakespearean classics to a new generation of virtual gang-bangers, pimps, and hos.
Grand Theft Hamlet premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival.