In the Bleak Midwinter

When his professional career hits a lull, an actor attempts to revitalize his career by staging a production of +Hamlet, directed by and starring himself. Director and star Kenneth Branagh would in fact release his own film version of Shakespeare's classic play a year later, but this comedy provides ...more

After the success he achieved with Dead Again and Much Ado About Nothing was followed by the ego-driven disappointment Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Kenneth Branagh regrouped with A Midwinter's Tale, the story of a ragged acting troupe brought together by an out-of-work actor for a Christmas production of +Hamlet. Following the line that simpler is better, Branagh keeps everything very low-key, even shooting in black-and-white as a symbolic throwback to the days when films were not big-budget ...more