Director: Simon Stone
Cast: Andrew Scott, Olivia Colman, Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn, Luke Thompson, David Dawson, Matthew Beard, Joe Locke, Juliet Stevenson, Peter Mullan
Screenplay: Stephen Beresford
111 mins. Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief graphic nudity.

Andrew Scott (Wake Up Dead Man) is an incredibly versatile actor who can be insanely funny when he isn’t busy being emotionally devastating. His new performance in Elsinore is far more of the latter type of role, as he recreates actor Ian Charleson and challenges viewers to view the quality of their life or the quantity. Simply put: it’s one of the best films of the year.

Ian Charleson was in one of the biggest movies of his time with Chariots of Fire, a film mostly remembered for the sweeping score. Now, he’s performing in Italian horror films and looking for a truly meaty role. When Daniel Day-Lewis suddenly exits the title role in the National Theater production of Hamlet, Charleson sees this as an opportunity to finally play the great character in the history of fiction. The challenge is that Ian has AIDS and has begun to see the effects really taking over. He reaches out to Dr. Margaret Johnson (Olivia Colman, Wonka) at the Royal Free Hospital’s AIDS ward to help him stay healthy enough to play the role, arguing that the quality of life in achieving his dreams is worth far more to him than the quantity of time he might have left without it.

Elsinore belongs to Andrew Scott, who has found a way to destroy me with his portrayal of Charleson. I didn’t think he could hit me this hard again after All of Us Strangers; I had assumed I’d see it coming, but I need to stop doubting Scott, who has become one of my favorite current performers, especially seeing how he elevated his performance in Pressure. Seeing Charleson decide to push himself for his dreams at the expense of his own health is so beautiful and inspiring, and I love that his AIDS is viewed as an obstacle and not what he wanted to be known for. It hits hardest when he says, “I’d rather die of Hamlet than AIDS.” His interactions with Margaret Johnson are this wonderful ethical meeting of the minds, he asks her to look at the epidemic in a different light given all the horrible pain she’s had to ensure.

Colman stands out as Margaret, almost seamlessly disappearing into the character; I hadn’t realized it was her in the role. Billie Piper (Catherine Called Birdy) also shines as Patsy, a loving friend to Ian, and I was also impressed with David Dawson (My Policeman) as director Derek Jarman, who faced AIDS as a publicly out man and pressures Ian to do so as well. Lastly, Peter Mullan (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1) appears in a very limited role as Ian’s father, and he gets a moment in the parking lot outside the hospital to act the hell out of his minimal time as he comes to grips with his son’s situation.

Stephen Beresford’s script is incredibly successful at maintaining its hopeful joy throughout the melancholic and depressing journey. Beresford infuses the screenplay with moments of levity and humanity, allowing the characters to fight their pain with humor and dignity. I never expected to laugh during a film like this, but it goes back to that overarching argument, choosing quality of life over quantity, choosing to face the darkness ahead with as much positivity and joy as is possible.

Director Simon Stone (The Woman in Cabin 10) simplifies the story without heavy stylistic swings, choosing the let the incredible costuming (seriously, get me Andrew Scott’s wardrobe) of the time and a strong but delicate musical score to add layers to the film’s style without compromising the performances, understanding that they make the film and little else is needed. Your mileage may vary depending on your understanding of Shakespeare, primarily the story of Hamlet, but it’s accessible enough here without being completely required homework beforehand. I made the mistake of underestimating Elsinore, and I hope you take the opportunity to see it when it releases. It’s an endlessly moving film that manages to deal with heavy subject material without feeling completely annihilating at the same time.

4½/5
-Kyle A. Goethe