The play was written based on a 14th or 15th century fairy tale, but was performed using an 18th century atmosphere without any problems. This flexibility with the time period is attributed to the fact that Hamlet is timeless and universal as it expresses universal truths that are as valid for us today as they were for people four, five, and even six centuries ago. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay A good example of how the film shows gender roles is the treatment of Ophelia. In the play and the film Ophelia had evidently gone through so much pain and anguish. Men tried to dictate her every move. Her father and brother told her to stay away from Hamlet even though she loved him dearly, and they didn't stop there either. They extorted this poor fragile girl to try to find out more information about why Hamlet was going mad. In both the play and the film, Ophelia was treated as a tool that the men in her life could use freely without repercussions. Now a theme represented differently is madness, a character that best shows the differences in the representation of madness in comedy. Ophelia is still against the film. As previously stated, in both the play and the film Ophelia's existence could very well have been to serve the men in her life. But what differentiates the play from the film are the repercussions of this horrific abuse. In the film adaptation, after Hamlet killed Polonius, Ophelia went mad. Furthermore, she was also shown wearing a straight jacket, a jacket that controls mental patients. On the other hand, in the tragedy Shakespeare does not directly show that Ophelia has gone mad. Depressed yes, but angry no. He said: “We have to be patient. But I can't choose to cry." This difficult situation where Ophelia is depressed or crazy completely changes the reason for her death. Since a crazy person wouldn't actually think about killing themselves, it would be the person who hates their life who would be more inclined to take their own life. Please note: this is just an example. Get a customized document from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In conclusion, my final verdict regarding the film adaptation compared to the play is one of great amazement and satisfaction. Not to mention, it took me forever to find the differences between the film and the play since the film was an incredibly complete and well-made adaptation of the original Shakespearean text. In short, the completeness of this film adaptation is simply exquisite. At four hours and two minutes, Branagh leaves nothing to be desired.