Zahn is great and the pair just about convince as does Liev Schreiber as Laertes, though his face is so familiar from Scream it may prejudice your opinion of his character if you've never seen or studied the play before.
Speaking of which, the choice of Rosencrantz (Steve Zahn) and Guildenstern (Dechen Thurman - Uma's brother) is interesting. It would certainly sit better with the less experienced actors and the present day New York setting if partially updated to modern speech since Shakespeare always wrote to appeal to his whole audience not just the more educated fans. Surprisingly, it is her on-screen father (Bill Murray) who grapples best with the language, though I find it odd that directors are so very keen to stick to the original texts - for something like Romeo And Juliet the plot is simple and the language highly poetic, making it less of a problem, but Hamlet is complex and would lose none of its potency if truly adapted properly (it would also lose those legendary lines that, whilst brilliant, are distractingly familiar and stand out a mile as THE BIG LINES that the actors have rehearsed more than any others). It's a problem for Stiles as well though she copes better as her physical skills bring across most of her dialogue. The actors (or director) clearly only have half a clue what they're saying. Hawke makes a reasonable Hamlet though the director's choice of sticking mostly to the original Shakespearian English renders many of the speeches indecipherable. Mercifully this obsession with new technology does wane as the pace speeds up about half way through the film, although it never quite shakes it off. They inhabit a world of camcorders, DVD players and all kinds of gadgetry possible - these guys are really, really modern, and don't you forget it! Also wearing a designer-miserable look is his love Ophelia (Julia Stiles), complete with kooky hairdo and combat trousers 'cos she's very cool and modern (or something like that). We know this because, as well as brooding artistically, he sits there unshaven and scruffy making video installations about how troubled a lad he is. The queen (Dian Venora) has remarried her brother-in-law Claudius (Kyle MacLachlan) rather hastily and Hamlet (Ethan Hawke), her son ain't happy.
It is the year 2000 in New York "the King and CEO of Denmark Corp." has died under mysterious circumstances. My guess is that this was a pitch along the lines of "Think Hamlet via Luhrmann with Julia Stiles", since that looks to be the template for the film. Redoing Shakespeare in modern dress may not be an original idea but when it works it's certainly worth it as the popularity of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo And Juliet showed.
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