BFI London Film Festival 2026: Elsinore

Andrew Scott is a towering presence in this singular account of Ian Charleson’s life, capturing the moment when he faced his own mortality as he prepared to play Hamlet at the Royal National Theatre.

Simon Stone’s film, written by Stephen Beresford (Pride), details Ian Charleson’s decision to step into the National Theatre’s production of Hamlet following Daniel Day-Lewis’ departure. Scott, who so movingly portrayed a man wracked by grief in All of Us Strangers (LFF 2023), here ascends new heights with his performance. He captures the tumult and humanity of Charleson, who is dying of AIDS (his scenes with Olivia Colman’s doctor are a veritable masterclass in screen performance) while revealing the joyful process of co-creation and the importance of fellowship in embodying a character as complex as Shakespeare’s haunted Danish prince. 

With a stellar cast that also includes Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn, Juliet Stevenson, Adeel Akhtar and Peter Mullan, Elsinore skilfully shifts gear between the ebullience of rehearsals and performance, and the profound reality of life on the precipice of the unknown. It’s a stunning achievement by Stone (The Daughter, LFF 2015; The Dig, LFF 2021) who has crafted a stirring ode to an extraordinary life, the strength of community and resistance, and the triumph of art.