One of SXSW’s most lovable films this year is also one of the most unique—both at the festival and, frankly, in the documentary genre. Grand Theft Hamlet, which premiered March 10 at this year’s fest, is a novel work about a novel work: It’s both filmed entirely within the game Grand Theft Auto Online, and it tells the story of the first-ever staged production of a Shakespeare play in a multiplayer online video game.
That’s a highly specific achievement, but it’s an amazing one nonetheless. Co-directed by and co-starring filmmaker couple Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane, Grand Theft Hamlet captures this wacky and surprisingly moving affair with dry British wit, vulnerable introspection, and a lot of failed attempts at rehearsing a classic play in a video game where the goal is to gun down everyone around you. The doc is an impressive piece of machinima, a niche but increasingly utilized method of filmmaking that exclusively utilizes in-game graphics to create a cinematic experience. And what initially seems like too absurd and comedic a conceit to work for a full 90 minutes ends up being one of the more human and successful works of art inspired by the COVID lockdowns.
Grand Theft Hamlet opens in January 2021, when the U.K. is under a large-scale lockdown due to a new COVID variant. Sam Crane and his friend Mark Oosterveen are actors who are unable to find work, stuck at home and driven to their PlayStations instead. When we meet them—or, rather, their in-game avatars—they seem to be playing the game on a begrudging autopilot; there’s a sense of resignation to their situation, and they often crack wise at their own expense about their seemingly permanent joblessness. But during one play session, they happen upon a previously unseen area of Los Santos, where GTA Online is set; it’s an amphitheater, one which Sam and Mark immediately decide would make for a great place to stage a play. And not just any play: Hamlet, which they agree seems well-suited to the similarly beautiful and absurd world of this game. And if they can’t go act in the real world, why not give it a go in the virtual one they’re spending all their time in?
This inciting incident does feel somewhat scripted, but the humor inherent in the situation makes any contrivance forgivable. It’s hilarious to watch Mark and Sam navigate around other players in this hugely popular game randomly arriving to gun them down, as they try to stage auditions. While GTA Online allows for a lot of independence in how players choose to interact with it, the fact of the matter is that this is a game where everyone has a gun and is encouraged to use it. This makes Grand Theft Hamlet far more difficult and unique a task than other recent examples of films shot partly or entirely within video games, like the VRChat-set Wet Met in Virtual Reality and the gorgeous Ibelin, which won several awards at this year’s Sundance and uses footage from World of Warcraft. Those games encourage nonviolent socializing; GTA is a cartoonishly violent power fantasy, fun it may be.
The entire Shakespeare-performance enterprise seems like a fool’s errand, but these fools are incredibly entertaining to watch. Viewers during one of the film’s SXSW screening laughed uproariously each time Mark and Sam casually shot a bystander that tried to interrupt their conversation, or were forced to take down the hordes of cops that arrived on the scene afterward. Such is the life of a GTA character, an obligation that they balance well with their pacifistic desires to do something completely antithetical to the game’s premise.
Once Sam brings his wife Pinny into the mix, it elevates the film from in-game footage of two dudes dicking around into something more artful. It also ups the emotional stakes, which Grand Theft Hamlet offers in surprising abundance. Some of its biggest laughs come from Pinny’s introduction to the game, where she designs an avatar she hopes resembles Tilda Swinton and gleefully learns how to kill other players. (Y’know, for protection.) She takes on the role of director and cinematographer, making this a legitimate affair. We also begin to meet some of the film’s greatest supporting characters, including a Tunisian/Finnish player known as ParTeb who always wears an alien costume. The global nature of GTA Online’s player base is an important element to the story, one which Pinny and Sam are keenly aware of as filmmakers; there’s a wonderful montage introducing various players who come to try out for Hamlet, who range from stay-at-home parents, retail workers, and casual Shakespeare fans.
But it’s Mark and Sam’s relationship and dedication to the process that is core to the film’s message and achievement. It’s unclear how the pair met, but their relationship seems dependent on their playtime; when Sam suggests that the play may not pan out after their Hamlet actor drops out, Mark gets defensive. Not only is he unemployed without prospects, but he has no wife, kids, or even remaining blood relatives, we learn. Making Hamlet happen is the most important thing in his life right now, and thus, it becomes the most important thing in Sam’s life too. But with Pinny involved, the offline, at-home tension spills into the game, leading to a confrontation between the spouses that reveals how absent Sam has become from the real world in favor of his virtual space. This is a common dilemma for those heavy into online games, and factoring that tension into the film’s story adds emotional depth and more universal appeal.
To that end, however, Grand Theft Hamlet does get bogged down a bit with extrapolating the fun of staging Shakespeare in a ridiculous venue to the real-world circumstances that drove Mark and Sam to do it. There are stretches in which Sam waxes philosophical about how Hamlet and GTA Online are kindred spirits, straining to compare the two in a way that feels more like padding than real insight. But it’s admirable that Grand Theft Hamlet aspires to character growth; as a documentary, it could easily just capture the proceedings and call it a day. But that would be a less successful, if still impressive, film. By giving Sam, Mark, and Pinny real narrative arcs—staged or otherwise—it bolsters Grand Theft Hamlet’s impact and enjoyment.
Whether or not the pair succeeds with their lofty task is best experienced by the viewer. But it does involve, among other things, falling off a blimp, several boating accidents, wacky-looking avatars, and stray bullets. Because it’s not GTA without some guns getting fired. Mark and Sam’s Hamlet production aside, Grylls’ and Crane’s film is a remarkable work that follows in the footsteps of a nascent genre that hopefully only grows further.
