A rearranging of Hamlet, this time told from the perspective of the prince’s main squeeze, Ophelia (Daisy Ridley). As much an authority on Shakespeare as I am young adult novels, and seeing as this is my introduction to Ridley — I abandoned Star Wars after Episode III — one didn’t know what to expect from this adaptation of Lisa Klein‘s best-seller. Closer in spirit (and far superior) to Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet than it is Orson Welles or Akira Kurosawa (cinema’s master Bard decoders), the lush settings, arresting location work, and romantic momentum give the film a snap that makes it so watchable. And director Claire McCarthy leaves in just enough of the original to hopefully satisfy the purists. Naomi Watts delights in two roles and it was best to encounter Ridley under these circumstances. The film’s one glaring blemish is Cilve Owen, generally an on-the-spot performer who in this case, scuds across the role of Claudius. (2019) — Scott Marks