
Full Answer
What is the movie Ophelia about?
Ophelia is a 2018 British-American romantic drama film directed by Claire McCarthy and written by Semi Chellas about the character of the same name from William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet. Based on the novel by Lisa Klein, the film follows the story of Hamlet from Ophelia's perspective. It stars Daisy Ridley in the title role, ...
Who is Ophelia in Hamlet?
Ophelia is a character in William Shakespeare 's drama Hamlet. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet .
What is Ophelia by John Millais?
Ophelia is one of the finest works to have come from the Pre-Raphaelite movement and Millais' classic painting can be found on display at the Tate Britain in London. Ophelia was a character from Shakespeare's Hamlet play and this painting from Millais shows her singing whilst drowning in a small river in Denmark.
When does Ophelia come out?
Ophelia (2018 film) The film was premièred at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. It is scheduled to have a limited release on June 28, 2019, followed by a digital release on July 2, 2019 by IFC Films .

What type of genre is Ophelia?
Folk rock AmericanaOphelia (The Lumineers song)"Ophelia"GenreFolk rock AmericanaLength2:40LabelDualtone RecordsSongwriter(s)Wesley Schultz Jeremy Fraites8 more rows
What is the story Ophelia about?
Ophelia is a character in Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. She is driven mad when her father, Polonius, is murdered by her lover, Hamlet. She dies while still very young, suffering from grief and madness. The events shown in Millais's Ophelia are not actually seen on stage.
Is the song Ophelia about Hamlet?
By Marina Watts The song is named after the ingenue of Shakespeare's Hamlet. The lyrics state, “And I don't feel no remorse/And you can't see past my blindness,” which is similar to the undying love Ophelia had for Hamlet, who did not regret ending their affair prematurely.
Is Ophelia an indie?
Single Review: Ophelia // The Lumineers 'Ophelia' is the lead single from indie-rock band, The Lumineers' second studio album, Cleopatra, which is set to be released in April 2016.
What mental disorder does Ophelia have?
Ophelia's diagnosis with PTSD humanizes a character that audiences have pitied for centuries, but with whom they could not empathize. Unlike many psychological ailments, this disorder does not connote “insanity,” to which many viewers cannot relate.
Is Ophelia pregnant in Hamlet?
By this point, Ophelia would be well aware of her pregnancy, and well aware that she would soon begin to show outward signs of it.
What does Ophelia symbolize?
Q: What does Ophelia represent in Hamlet? Ophelia represents femininity in Hamlet. Hamlet acts out his aggression toward his mother on her, which finally leads to her madness.
Is Hamlet obsessed with Ophelia?
Another example of obsession in Hamlet is his love for Ophelia. Hamlet loved Ophelia so much that when she was in her grave Hamlet did not care for Laertes or the guards he wanted to be there for her and just wanted her to be happy. “I loved Ophelia forty thousand brothers could not with all their quantity of love”.
Did Hamlet and Ophelia marry?
Perhaps the most famous scene concerning Ophelia in the original play is when Hamlet angrily tells her, "Get thee to a nunnery!" In the film, the pair are genuinely in love and marry in secret.
What color was Ophelia's hair?
red hairThomas Francis Dicksee's Ophelia has the long red hair of the Pre-Raphaelite muses, crowned with colorful flowers.
Is Harry Styles an indie?
Harry Styles debuts indie sound, tackles change, vulnerability in new single 'As It Was'
Is Ophelia a major or minor key?
Ophelia is written in the key of F Major.
Whats the meaning behind Ophelia?
aidThe name was most likely derived from the ancient Greek “ōphéleia” (ὠφέλεια) meaning “aid” or “benefit,” but it is best known as the name of Shakespeare's tragic heroine in his play “Hamlet.”
What does Ophelia symbolize?
Q: What does Ophelia represent in Hamlet? Ophelia represents femininity in Hamlet. Hamlet acts out his aggression toward his mother on her, which finally leads to her madness.
What is the purpose of Ophelia?
Ophelia is one of the most important characters in the play Hamlet. Ophelia's character is important in the story because she represents femininity, and Hamlet is able to act out his aggression towards his mother on Ophelia.
What does Ophelia death symbolize?
Ophelia's death symbolizes a life spent passively tolerating Hamlet's manipulations and the restrictions imposed by those around her, while struggling to maintain the last shred of her dignity.
What is the movie Ophelia about?
(2018 film) Ophelia is a 2018 British-American romantic drama film directed by Claire McCarthy and written by Semi Chellas about the character of the same name from William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet. Based on the novel by Lisa Klein, the film follows the story of Hamlet from Ophelia's perspective.
How long is Ophelia?
107 minutes. Countries. United Kingdom. United States. Language. English. Box office. $242,115. Ophelia is a 2018 British-American romantic drama film directed by Claire McCarthy and written by Semi Chellas about the character of the same name from William Shakespeare 's play Hamlet.
What does Ophelia find in Hamlet's cloak?
She finds Mechtild's poison in his cloak and realises he was responsible for King Hamlet's death. When he learns of their secret marriage, Claudius decides to use her to spy on Hamlet. Ophelia warns him of her discovery and he tells her to leave Elsinore for a convent where she'll be safe from Claudius.
What does Ophelia do while she rests?
While Ophelia rests, she goes to offer her help to the invading Norwegians. Ophelia awakes to find a stunned and remorseful Gertrude, who tells her that Laertes has challenged Hamlet to a duel. Ophelia forgives her, and with Gertrude's help she is able to sneak back into the castle unrecognised.
Who plays Ophelia in the movie?
Plot. In the castle of Elsinore, Denmark, the wilful and free-spirited Ophelia ( Daisy Ridley) is Queen Gertrude 's ( Naomi Watts) favourite lady-in-waiting, though she is ridiculed by the other ladies for her lack of nobility. Her father Polonius ( Dominic Mafham) serves as chief councillor to King Hamlet ( Nathaniel Parker ).
Where does Hamlet meet Ophelia?
Later on, Hamlet meets Ophelia in the chapel and the couple make plans to marry in secret. While attending to the queen early the next morning, Ophelia discovers the spectral figure that she encountered earlier is actually Claudius.
Who is the actress in Ophelia?
Production. On May 4, 2016, it was announced that Daisy Ridley and Naomi Watts would star in the drama film Ophelia based on the novel by Lisa Klein, which was in turn based on the character of same name by William Shakespeare from his play Hamlet.
Who sang Ophelia?
Ophelia (The Lumineers song) " Ophelia " is a song recorded by American folk rock band the Lumineers. It was released as the lead single from their sophomore album, Cleopatra on February 5, 2016. As of July 2021, the song has garnered over 610 million streams on Spotify .
When did the Lumineers perform Ophelia?
On April 7, 2016, the Lumineers performed "Ophelia" on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The Lumineers also performed the song on Good Morning America on April 13, their first time on the show. A live performance of the song at the iHeartRadio music theater in Los Angeles was aired on Audience Network at 9pm on April 8.
When did Cleopatra come out?
It was released as the lead single from their sophomore album, Cleopatra on February 5, 2016. As of July 2021, the song has garnered over 610 million streams on Spotify .
Who wrote the song "O-O-Phelia"?
While playing at a backbar in LA alongside the Lumineers, Schultz wrote the song's hook,: "O-o-phelia, you've been on my mind girl, like a drug. O-o-phelia, heaven help a fool who falls in love.". Soon after, the Lumineers felt they needed to find a proper substitute for the name Ophelia, due to the fact that a song of the same name had been ...
What is the ballad of Cleopatra?
The Ballad of Cleopatra is a compilation of the story in the music videos for "Ophelia", " Cleopatra ", "Sleep on the Floor", " Angela " and "My Eyes", all songs from the album Cleopatra. The video was released on the Lumineers YouTube channel on April 27, 2017.
What is the visual palette of the film Ophelia?
The visual palette of the recent film Ophelia (2018) confirms the enduring strength of the nineteenth-century medieval revival aesthetic. 7 But if a Victorian aesthetic persists in popular visual culture, there is a world of difference between the response of post-Second World War academic literary criticism to Ophelia and her place in Romantic and Victorian criticism. 8 William Hazlitt may have described Ophelia as ‘a character almost too exquisitely touching to be dwelt upon’, but modern feminist literary criticism knows that it cannot look away from her. 9 The sense that the feminist critic must ‘absent [herself] from felicity a while’ and ‘tell [Ophelia’s] story’ (V.ii.331–3) has pervaded criticism at least since the publication of Elaine Showalter’s 1985 essay ‘Representing Ophelia’. 10 Showalter’s original question – ‘what can we mean by Ophelia’s story?’ – remains a live critical enquiry, and one to which many critics have since tried to give an answer. 11 No longer might it be said that Ophelia’s ‘visibility as a subject in literature, popular culture, and painting … is in inverse relation to her invisibility in Shakespearean critical texts’. 12 Showalter’s own answer, given in response to Lee Edwards’s comment that, ‘without Hamlet, Ophelia literally has no story’, is to say that ‘Ophelia does have a story of her own that feminist criticism can tell; it is neither her life story, nor her love story, nor Lacan’s story, but rather the history of her representation’. 13 Showalter’s response has considerable merit. Ophelia is in only four scenes of the play – five, if you follow Carol Chillington Rutter and include the graveyard scene – and she is not the protagonist of the plot in which she finds herself: the play is called Hamlet, not Ophelia. 14 It seems to make sense, therefore, to locate Ophelia’s ‘story’ outside the playtext because of her disproportionate status in popular culture and, certainly post-1985, in literary criticism. 15 Nevertheless, locating Ophelia’s story outside the text is another way of not listening to what she says in the play. Sandra Fischer argues that ‘one must listen for the repression of Ophelia’s voice as juxtaposed against Hamlet’s noisy soul-wrenching soliloquies’. 16 A feminist reading which only listens to Ophelia’s silences could equally be condemned by Christy Desmet’s criticism of iconographic readings: that ‘Ophelia has complexity only when she is silenced and made an object of sight’. 17 Fischer goes on to argue that ‘hearing Ophelia requires a new set of critical ears’ when, actually, using the old ones to listen as intently to Ophelia as we do to Hamlet will work perfectly well. 18
What scene was Ophelia last on stage?
Ophelia was last on stage in III.ii, a scene in which almost all her speech is in direct response to questions or prompts from Hamlet. Indeed, Fischer notes that her speech throughout that scene is ‘stunningly empty and rhetorically reflective’. 24 In this scene, however, Ophelia creates a manner of communication that is all her own. She seems to have been doing this off-stage too. Horatio reports that:
How does Claudius try to bring Ophelia back into the realm of acceptable speech?
Claudius twice tries to bring Ophelia back into the realm of acceptable speech by referring to her as ‘pretty lady’ (IV.v.41) and ‘pretty Ophelia’ (56) . These repeated reminders that she is ‘pretty’ ‘address’ Ophelia in order to ‘flatter’ and ‘soothe’ her ( OED 2d), to draw her behaviour back within an accepted narrative of courtly femininity: into elegance ( OED 1b); delicate or diminutive attractiveness ( OED 2a); proper, appropriate or polite actions ( OED 3b). But Claudius speaks to no avail. Ophelia rejects this narrative of courtly femininity both in her actions, and in the stories that she tells. She exchanges Claudius’s elite view of feminine behaviour and experience, and exchanges it for another, more universal, version of the feminine story. She is not ‘pretty Ophelia’; she is just a woman waiting for her pilgrim lover to come back to her. That Ophelia imagines an interlocutor in this song – she asks a question and then answers it – underscores her isolation. She has lost her lover and her father, and her brother does not return until much later in the scene, by which time it is too late. She is alone; she has no one to tell her stories to, but when she ventriloquises her suffering through her song, she imagines herself speaking to a friend. This desire for companionship stands in stark contrast to the would-be tragic heroes Laertes and Hamlet, who understand their increasing social isolation as proof of the justice of their cause. A tragic hero must stand alone, but what Ophelia really wants is a friend with whom she can communicate freely, without concern for moderation or ‘prettiness’. By telling her story through the ballad, Ophelia allows herself to imagine an audience for whom she would not have to prioritise communication over expression, rather than her current audience, who are at best utterly baffled by, and at worst totally indifferent to, her story.
How does Ophelia retelling Hamlet work?
The retellings of Hamlet and Laertes fulfil two key functions: the first, to give each man a sense of control over the events of the play by centralising him within the Hamlet narrative as the subject of the action rather than its object; the second, to assert that Hamlet is a tragedy, and to mould the action of the play in such a way that helps it achieve tragic status. Ophelia’s retellings share a desire to exercise narrative control, but the second and third functions of her retellings operate in diametric opposition to those of her former lover and her brother. The story that she tells diffuses power rather than centralising it, and she refuses to call Hamlet a tragedy.
What does Horatio say about Ophelia?
Horatio says that Ophelia’s speech is utterly meaningless – it is ‘nothing’ – and that listeners make up its meaning ‘fit to their own thoughts’. Horatio interprets the speech in other words, as Fischer interpreted it in her last scene: as ‘empty and rhetorically reflective’. The idea that Ophelia acts as reflection or mirror to the male characters of the play has transferred from Horatio to criticism, and Ophelia’s supposedly ‘cipher-like’ quality in this scene and throughout the play means that she has been read as a ‘mirror’ for Hamlet by a range of critics. 25 Linda Bamber, for example, who advanced one of the first and most influential feminist critiques of Shakespeare’s plays, describes Ophelia as a ‘psychologically and morally neutral character’ who merely ‘take [s] on the colouration of the play’s moods’, and whose ‘personality … has no resonance’. 26 But Ophelia resists these readings by refusing to make her speech make sense within the dominant narrative framework of the play: she makes herself not reflective, but illegible. She repeatedly demands that her audience listen, but then resists all their efforts to make her speech conform to their standards; she communicates on her own terms.
Who is Reylia Slaby?
Reylia Slaby is an American artist who was born and grew up in Japan. Millais’s painting has enjoyed a particular place in Japanese culture since the publication of Natsume Sōseki’s Kusamakura (1906), in which he calls the painting ‘a thing of considerable beauty’. There is a frequently repeated anecdote that it was decided not to use images of the painting to advertise an exhibition of Millais’s work in Tokyo in 2008 because of concerns about how it glamorised suicide. Via Benjamin Secher, ‘Ten Things You Never Knew about Ophelia’, The Telegraph, 7 Aug. 2014, < https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/11018800/Ten-things-you-never-knew-about-Ophelia.html > (accessed 30 Sept. 2019). For more on the influence of Hamlet on Japanese culture see Saburo Sato, ‘Hamlet, Polonius, and Ophelia in Meiji Japan’, Comparative Literature Studies, 22 (1985) pp. 23–33; Alexander Huang, ‘Beyond the Madness: East Asia’s Ophelia’, The Platform, 15 June 2012, < http://www.the-platform.org.uk/2012/06/15/beyond-the-madness-east-asias-ophelia/ > (accessed 30 Sept. 2019).
Why did Millais not use images of Ophelia?
There is a frequently repeated anecdote that it was decided not to use images of the painting to advertise an exhibition of Millais’s work in Tokyo in 2008 because of concerns about how it glamorised suicide. Via Benjamin Secher, ‘Ten Things You Never Knew about Ophelia’, The Telegraph, 7 Aug.
Why is Ophelia called Ophelia?
The song is named after the ingénue of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ophelia was the naïve daughter of Polonius who fell in love with Hamlet. She is humiliated by him and when Hamlet kills her father she loses her reason. Soon after Ophelia drowns after a branch from a willow tree she climbs upon breaks.
Who directed the music video for Ophelia?
The band's frontman, Wesley Schultz said: "For the music video Ophelia, our good friend Issac Ravishankara, who directed the 'Stubborn Love' music video from our first record, brought us a treatment that involved me dancing in the streets while it was raining so I had to learn choreography for the first time in my life.
What happened to Ophelia in Hamlet?
She is humiliated by him and when Hamlet kills her father she loses her reason. Soon after Ophelia drowns after a branch from a willow tree she climbs upon breaks. The Isaac Ravishankara directed video pays homage to the classic Gene Kelly film Singin' In the Rain.
What was the first song written and recorded for Cleopatra?
The first track written and recorded for Cleopatra, this was the "cornerstone" for the record. Band member Jeremiah Fraites told Wat Kyk JY: "Once we finished and completed 'Ophelia' I felt like it was easier to proceed finishing the album. 'Ophelia' was the cornerstone of this album.

Overview
Ophelia is a 2018 historical romantic drama film directed by Claire McCarthy and written by Semi Chellas about the character of the same name from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Based on the novel by Lisa Klein, the film follows the story of Hamlet from Ophelia's perspective. It stars Daisy Ridley in the title role, alongside Naomi Watts, Clive Owen, George MacKay, Tom Felton and Devon Terrell. The dialogue is in modern English.
Plot
In the castle of Elsinore, Denmark, the wilful and free-spirited Ophelia (Daisy Ridley) is Queen Gertrude's (Naomi Watts) favourite lady-in-waiting, though she is ridiculed by the other ladies for her lack of nobility. Her father, Polonius (Dominic Mafham), serves as chief councillor to King Hamlet (Nathaniel Parker). Upon his return from Wittenberg, Prince Hamlet (George MacKay) soon begins courting Ophelia, but their blossoming romance is cut short when Hamlet returns to Witt…
Cast
• Daisy Ridley as Ophelia
• Naomi Watts as Gertrude / Mechtild
• Clive Owen as Claudius, the uncle of Prince Hamlet
• George MacKay as Hamlet
Production
On May 4, 2016, it was announced that Daisy Ridley and Naomi Watts would star in the drama film Ophelia based on the novel by Lisa Klein, which was in turn based on the character of same name by William Shakespeare from his play Hamlet. The film would be directed by Claire McCarthy based on a script by Semi Chellas. Covert Media would finance the film, while Daniel Bobker and Ehren Kruger would produce the film along with Sarah Curtis. Bert Marcus is also executive producing t…
Release
It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2018. In February 2019, IFC Films acquired the US distribution rights to the film. It was released in theaters on June 28, 2019. Blue Finch Film later acquired the UK distribution rights on August 15, 2019, a month after its US release, and released it on November 22, 2019.
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics, praising its production design, direction, and acting (mostly that of Ridley and Watts), but criticizing the screenplay. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 61% based on 132 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads: "Flawed yet intriguing, Ophelia uses Hamlet as the starting point for a noble attempt to offer a misunderstood character long-overdue agency." Metacritic gave it a score of 6…
External links
• Ophelia at IMDb
Overview
- "Ophelia" is a song recorded by American folk rock band the Lumineers. It was released as the lead single from their sophomore album, Cleopatra on February 5, 2016. As of August 2022, the song has garnered over 800 million streams on Spotify.
Background
- The song started out as a slower instrumental demo that Jeremiah Fraites,, sent to Wesley Schultz, in 2011. According to Schultz, the demo generated enough excitement to work on the project. While playing at a backbar in LA alongside the Lumineers, Schultz wrote the song's hook. Soon after, the Lumineers felt they needed to find a proper substitute for the name Ophelia, due t…
Critical reception
- The song has received mixed reviews from music critics. The song was praised by Marina Watts of The Cornell Daily Sun; where Watts refers to "Ophelia" as "hauntingly beautiful", also noting that the song is "a march that wishes anyone who ever falls in love the best of luck." David Dye of NPR also viewed "Ophelia" positively, while comparing its musical influences and style to the Luminee…
Music video
- The official music video was directed by Isaac Ravishankara, and released via the Lumineers' YouTube and Vevo accounts on February 12, 2016. As of January 2022, it has gained over 200 million views.
Live performances
- On April 7, 2016, the Lumineers performed "Ophelia" on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. The Lumineers also performed the song on Good Morning America on April 13, their first time on the show. A live performance of the song at the iHeartRadio music theater in Los Angeles was aired on Audience Network at 9pm on April 8. On December 12, 2021, the Lumineers and Arkells perfo…