“Grand Theft Hamlet” Review

For a film that takes place entirely within Grand Theft Auto Online, it might sound strange that such a film nearly drove me to tears. But there is great drama to be had within a game most notable for its mindless carnage. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this is where we all were. We shifted to the digital realm where we worked and played. In that space, we found freedom from the world’s pains while reminders of its despair lingered in the pixels. Even though a game like GTA was built for violence, it was also open enough for creativity. This film is about two men who used that format for something more than a few kills and high-speed chases.

Actors Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen regularly met in GTA amid London’s lockdown in early 2021. With no theaters open for acting jobs, the two get a great idea. What if they put on a production of Hamlet in Grand Theft Auto? Plenty of digital play productions were going on at the time, but no director or troupe had ever approached something ambitious. It would take a lot of coordinating, but Sam and Mark became determined to bring Shakespeare to GTA.

Contrary to what the title may imply, this is a documentary on the behind-the-scenes of such a play instead of just showcasing the play itself, which most viewers could find online for free. The production is remarkably moving for a game environment with limited gestures, where the most expression comes through the microphones of the players. But there’s still blocking to consider and finding the best locations for certain scenes. Auditions are held for the roles and we get to know as much about them as the leaders, hearing of their struggles with boredom during the pandemic and gender transitioning during a time of dire acceptance. Having the courage to even attempt a reading of Hamlet in Grand Theft Auto is pretty admirable, but it’s made all the better with some genuine performances that impress amid all the adversity.

The documentary is captured mainly by filmmaker Pinny Grylls, who was pulled into this digital world for the first time. Although she initially struggles to get a feel for the game, she learns fast and turns this in-game film into more of an engrossing documentary. There’s plenty of somber and joyous moments she frames, ranging from the charming auditions to the arguments over schedules and the importance of such a project. Some despair can be felt as crumbling personal lives bleed into this realm, where missed anniversaries and job prospects haunt these players. It’s honestly heartbreaking to watch as Mark and Sam fight off existential dread amid a game where death has little meaning. The despair is beautifully captured as the actors stroll around and recite lines, with a B-roll of NPCs milling about and looking on with a deadness in their eyes.

It’s during these many moments of lingering doubt in-game that started reaping tears. Maybe it’s because I’ve played the game many times before, but the interface is a familiar box of longing where it felt like the only avenue of interaction and fulfillment. The mind starts to wander about life was like for these people away from their computers, tortured by economic woes and funerals for families. These Hamlet players are not mere game avatars, but real people with real emotions they’ve decided to plunge into this first for an MMO game. It’s not hard to feel for them because, for a long stretch of time, this was all we could feel. We had to convince ourselves that we were present for people and building something in these worlds. For Mark and Sam, they achieved that goal and made something so surprising it would garner a theater award.

Grand Theft Hamlet is loaded with as much drama as Shakespeare’s plays because it dares to manipulate video games for theater. Watching the whole Hamlet production come together amid so many conspiring forces in and out of the game is such a moving experience. Video games tend to be written off as a waste of time, but, like most sandbox games, it all depends on what you decide to make of the world you choose to occupy. Grand Theft Auto is a game where you can steal cars and shoot at cops, but it’s also a world where actors can put on a show if they so choose. This documentary showcases how that process can happen and bring out the best in people stuck behind computers, where a digital production of Hamlet holds just as much emotional weight as in person.