Hamnet, 2025.
Written and Directed by Chloe Zhao.
Directed by Chloe Zhao. Starring Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, and Joe Alwyn.
SYNOPSIS:
The powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.
In Hamnet, writer/director Chloe Zhao (adapting Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel) brings her gifted, gentle touch to a story about the inspiration of William Shakespeare’s famous Hamlet (some opening text tells us that the names are interchangeable with one another, which is clarified as the events unfold), an emotionally draining work that frankly runs much deeper than that simplified description. That’s not to say this isn’t a simple film; it is, and deceptively so. However, the depression that runs throughout Agnes Shakespeare (Jessie Buckley) and her husband William (Paul Mescal) following an unfathomable tragedy—and how they handle it—is much more complex.
The film also serves as a primer on William Shakespeare himself, organically weaving in several details about his life and his courtship toward Agnes (despite a heartstopping retelling of the Greek tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice from William to Agnes, this aspect is slightly rushed, although one feels every bit of love they have for one another with that tragedy so compellingly told, it sets the stage for just how much of an emotional chokehold the rest of the film will have), the family they create, and general life that brings to mind infamous details of his works, ranging from Hamlet (duh), Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and others. It also never calls attention to itself in a manner that comes across as fan service per se, but rather presents a natural look at a tragedy that arguably shaped one of the greatest bodies of literature of all time.
It should also come as no surprise that William Shakespeare, who already often traveled from the English countryside to London to continuously make progress on his theater, doubled down on his work and writing as a response to such a tragedy. Like a true writer, working on Hamlet involved practically running away from his Agnes and their family as a heavy coping mechanism that becomes the center of a beautifully devastating third act that takes whatever tears viewers have been holding in (if they haven’t been crying already) and provides an outlet to let it all out, finding some catharsis.
Hamnet is just as much Agnes’ story as William’s, though, with Jessie Buckley delivering a true tour de force performance of lyrical romance, doomed visions, and unimaginable grief rendered unbearably intense. Even the descriptor of “force” could be attributed literally, as when Agnes runs off into the forest (a special place for her, as her family, for generations, has been experts on plants and fruits) to deliver a child into the world, she lets out a primal scream that feels in tune with the earth and wind around her.
Given that Chloe Zhao, working with cinematographer Łukasz Żal, conjures every image as if it were a living, breathing painting with impeccable blocking techniques, there is unshakable power here. Much of Jessie Buckley’s performance also involves expressing that pain through close-ups, while she works through confusion about how and why William could become so distant from her during such a dark time in their lives.
The powerhouse performances also go beyond Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, with the Shakespeare children also tugging at the heartstrings with a rawness and desperation to save one another, particularly scenes involving Jacobi Jupe (Hamnet himself) and Olivia Lynes (Judith). If Shakespeare is possibly the most famous for writing stories about star-crossed romances never meant to be, his family life was similarly doomed in the sense that complete happiness was never meant to be.
Hamnet (and Hamlet, as it comes to be) turns out to be a therapeutic means to start the healing process, complete with a lengthy reenactment of one segment that might take on a new meaning for those unfamiliar with William Shakespeare’s life. One also doesn’t have to be well-versed in that; even Agnes voices out loud that she doesn’t know what the hell this play is about or what anyone is actually saying. However, in a few short minutes, we get it, and the tear ducts break wide open. This is a shattering, near-masterful work providing profound depth to the Shakespeare family and the famous literary works.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
