November 26, 2025
FILM: HAMNET
DIRECTED BY: CHLOE ZHAO
STARRING: JESSIE BUCKLEY, PAUL MESCAL, EMILY WATSON
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
So, this is one of the big Oscar contenders this year which aims to pull your heart out with characters dealing with family, love, and intense grief. This description will likely turn some off to the film for sure. However, if you want to keep up during award season this is one to see for some great acting and intense emotionality.
It stars Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley as his wife Agnes. Their courtship is relatively brief on screen but no less affecting. With Will dressed in blue and Agnes in red, the two contrast each other both externally and internally suggesting their bond is ever more complementary. There’s a lot of fire within Agnes who comes across as tough and fairly self-assured. When they first meet, she brings hawks to her arm for some friendly feeding. Will may be more internal as becomes clear later in the film when they deal with the death of a child. While Agnes wales and screams, most of Will’s grief gets poured into his eventual writing of Hamlet.
Before all of this occurs though they are effectively developed within Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) and Maggie O’Farrell’s script. Will is considered “useless” by his father while Agnes is seen as a “forest witch” by some of the locals. She believes in the various prophecies and visions she has about her own future. Related to this, Zhao uses images of a cave and later a door to darkness where the deceased child must enter. These aren’t heavy handed but they keep the film in a realm of spirituality and superstition rather than on the everyday realities of life on earth. While Will goes off for extended periods of time to write in London, it is Agnes alone who is present when tragedy strikes. This isn’t to say the film itself is one dark tunnel. In fact, Zhao spends an ample amount of time showing us the happy periods in the couple’s life, especially after their children are born.
The narrative leaps in time can be a bit startling though especially since Will and Agnes don’t seem to age over the course of the decades plus story. I wouldn’t say the actors are at fault though. They are both very good with their characters’ emotional journeys and are effective at inhabiting the twists and turns of their arcs. Both have some highly intense scenes which will likely be remembered come Oscar time.
I think the film is mostly trying to express two things. First off, there is the question of how people move on after a tragedy. Both Will and Agnes deal with grief in different ways. How and when does a person (or a couple) let go? The other is that the arts can be a gateway toward healing as Will’s creation of Hamlet proves to be a cathartic experience for both characters. There is a final scene when the play is being performed on stage. At first, Agnes stands (the entire audience does) wondering what it has to do with their child’s death. Eventually she seems transfixed and transformed by the production and holds her hand out to offer support to the main character. This scene probably goes on longer than necessary but it suggests that the play may offer a certain sense of relief that perhaps only she can truly understand.
Credit must be given to the actors inhabiting Hamnet and Hamlet. The former is played by Jacobi Jupe who makes us care deeply for the young boy with his expressive face and more than capable line readings. The latter is played by the actor’s own brother Noah who appears on stage capturing Shakespeare’s words and spirit quite commandingly as an older version of Hamnet. (Apparently, “Hamnet” and “Hamlet” are considered to be the same name.) Both are actors who have appeared in a number of films so far and will likely continue to have major careers ahead of them.
All of this being said, the film feels a bit manipulative as we sense danger around the corner for much of the screen time. Perhaps it helps not to know when the tragedy is coming or that it will happen at all. However, most of the promotion behind the film mentions it as part of the plot summary. Needless to say, I didn’t leave with sniffles like others reportedly have and will continue to do. It is a pretty intense film.
Hamnet opens in additional theaters today.
FILM: HAMNET
DIRECTED BY: CHLOE ZHAO
STARRING: JESSIE BUCKLEY, PAUL MESCAL, EMILY WATSON
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
So, this is one of the big Oscar contenders this year which aims to pull your heart out with characters dealing with family, love, and intense grief. This description will likely turn some off to the film for sure. However, if you want to keep up during award season this is one to see for some great acting and intense emotionality.
It stars Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley as his wife Agnes. Their courtship is relatively brief on screen but no less affecting. With Will dressed in blue and Agnes in red, the two contrast each other both externally and internally suggesting their bond is ever more complementary. There’s a lot of fire within Agnes who comes across as tough and fairly self-assured. When they first meet, she brings hawks to her arm for some friendly feeding. Will may be more internal as becomes clear later in the film when they deal with the death of a child. While Agnes wales and screams, most of Will’s grief gets poured into his eventual writing of Hamlet.
Before all of this occurs though they are effectively developed within Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) and Maggie O’Farrell’s script. Will is considered “useless” by his father while Agnes is seen as a “forest witch” by some of the locals. She believes in the various prophecies and visions she has about her own future. Related to this, Zhao uses images of a cave and later a door to darkness where the deceased child must enter. These aren’t heavy handed but they keep the film in a realm of spirituality and superstition rather than on the everyday realities of life on earth. While Will goes off for extended periods of time to write in London, it is Agnes alone who is present when tragedy strikes. This isn’t to say the film itself is one dark tunnel. In fact, Zhao spends an ample amount of time showing us the happy periods in the couple’s life, especially after their children are born.
The narrative leaps in time can be a bit startling though especially since Will and Agnes don’t seem to age over the course of the decades plus story. I wouldn’t say the actors are at fault though. They are both very good with their characters’ emotional journeys and are effective at inhabiting the twists and turns of their arcs. Both have some highly intense scenes which will likely be remembered come Oscar time.
I think the film is mostly trying to express two things. First off, there is the question of how people move on after a tragedy. Both Will and Agnes deal with grief in different ways. How and when does a person (or a couple) let go? The other is that the arts can be a gateway toward healing as Will’s creation of Hamlet proves to be a cathartic experience for both characters. There is a final scene when the play is being performed on stage. At first, Agnes stands (the entire audience does) wondering what it has to do with their child’s death. Eventually she seems transfixed and transformed by the production and holds her hand out to offer support to the main character. This scene probably goes on longer than necessary but it suggests that the play may offer a certain sense of relief that perhaps only she can truly understand.
Credit must be given to the actors inhabiting Hamnet and Hamlet. The former is played by Jacobi Jupe who makes us care deeply for the young boy with his expressive face and more than capable line readings. The latter is played by the actor’s own brother Noah who appears on stage capturing Shakespeare’s words and spirit quite commandingly as an older version of Hamnet. (Apparently, “Hamnet” and “Hamlet” are considered to be the same name.) Both are actors who have appeared in a number of films so far and will likely continue to have major careers ahead of them.
All of this being said, the film feels a bit manipulative as we sense danger around the corner for much of the screen time. Perhaps it helps not to know when the tragedy is coming or that it will happen at all. However, most of the promotion behind the film mentions it as part of the plot summary. Needless to say, I didn’t leave with sniffles like others reportedly have and will continue to do. It is a pretty intense film.
Hamnet opens in additional theaters today.