Hamnet

Working as a Latin tutor to help pay off his father's debts, Will (Paul Mescal) becomes entranced watching a young woman walk out of the woods with a hawk on her arm. Knowing they will face opposition from their families, the two become handfasted, Agnes (Jessie Buckley) soon expecting their first child. And so the two are married, Will seeking his fortune in London making gloves for a theatrical company while setting his family up in a house in Stratford. But Will and Agnes's happiness will face a severe trial when the plague takes one of their twins, "Hamnet."

Laura's Review: B+

Writer/director Chloé Zhao ("Nomadland," "Eternals") leaps over her poorly received Marvel project, getting back into her own, more naturalistic realm. In adapting Maggie O'Farrell's historical fiction novel, Zhao doesn't lean too heavily on the author's various Shakespearean references outside of the oft speculated idea that the bard's most famous play, 'Hamlet,' was inspired by the death of his son, the names Hamlet and Hamnet being interchangeable in the late 16th century. Instead she concentrates on the courtship and family life of the Shakespeares, Will away in London for most of the film's second half, leaving Agnes and her mother-in-law Mary (Emily Watson) to battle the plague when it arrives at their doorstep. "Hamnet" is about the healing power of art, but when all is said and done, the film feels like a long setup for its extraordinary, final scene.

Zhao's first shot features Agnes curled up within the roots of a tree, an image which evokes the work of Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais, famed for his 'Ophelia.' Shortly thereafter she will meet Will and when she asks him to tell her a story and he chooses Orpheus and Eurydice, another harbinger of death. Yet, although initially wary of the stranger, Agnes is charmed by the tale and their passion is joyful. While his parents decry his choice of the woman known locally as 'the witch of the woods' and her parents lament his lack of financial security, Agnes convinces her brother,  Bartholomew (Joe Alwyn, "The Favourite"), of their suitability, a true love match, and he smooths the way for their marriage.

Initially, Will struggles to provide, both frustrated in his father's glove making trade and efforts to succeed as a writer. Concerned, Agnes, who has given birth to their first child, Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), asks Bartholomew to speak to Will's father, John (David Wilmot, "Calvary"), about sending him to London. Will begins to blossom there, returning to visit his family, which has grown to include twins Judith (Olivia Lynes) and
Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe, "Peter Pan & Wendy"). But he also accepts the fact that Agnes, who has been concerned about the health of Judith since her birth, the midwife initially having declared her stillborn, will always find an excuse not to join him, Stratford a better environment. The family enjoys its time together, the children delighting in their own plays, Hamnet telling his mother he wants to join his father's troupe one day to stage a sword fight.

It will be Hamnet who finds his beloved sister unresponsive one morning. The plague has arrived and Agnes is frantic, seeming to will her daughter back to health as Mary, who has known the loss of several children herself, tries to prepare her for the inevitable. Judith hangs on, and one night her brother crawls into bed with her, telling her 'I give you my life.' The loss of a child can pull parents together or drive a wedge between them and Agnes is inconsolable, repeatedly telling her husband when he arrives that 'you weren't there.' The once happy couple is no more.

Buckley has been getting the lion's share of notice for "Hamnet," and her warily flirtatious lover turned earth mother turned embodiment of grief (her wail upon finding Hamnet lifeless raises goosebumps) is certainly affecting, capped by her expression of wonder when she witnesses her husband's grief made poetry on stage. But Mescal, in a quieter performance, is somehow more moving, his ghostly appearance as Hamlet's father in his own play the very picture of sorrow. Zhao's canny casting mirrors Hamnet in Hamlet, the latter played by Jupe's older brother Noah, his hair painted blonde to match the playwright's son's. In addition to her beautiful evocation of the period, production designer Fiona Crombie (2015's "Macbeth," "The Favourite") echoes the dark chasm at the base of the giant tree in Agnes' forest for both Hamnet's death scene and on Will's stage, life, death and the arts all of apiece. Cinematographer Lukasz Zal ("Cold War," "The Zone of Interest") often stages family life interiors in a centered frame, as if through a proscenium arch, his palette emphasizing greens, red and brown.

"Hamnet" is a slow build to an emotional crescendo, a look between Buckley and Mescal expressing everything unsaid and love renewed, Buckley's gesture towards the actor representing her lost child the maternal comfort she's needed to bestow. It leaves us overcome with emotion, and yet the whole is ever so slightly underwhelming.

Robin's Review: B+

It was not until 1592 that William Shakespeare (Paul Pascal) made a name for himself on the London stage. Before that, little is known of his life becoming the most famous playwright in history. Director Chloe Zhao takes on the task of telling that story of the creation of the Bard’s most famous work in “Hamnet.”

Will’s early life is told through the eyes of noble-born Agnes (Jessie Buckley), a genuine child of the forest whose wildness attracts a young Latin tutor. Soon, she is pregnant with his child and their life together begins. She thrives as a new mother. He, though, is driven by his creative juices and begins to write a play.
Another pregnancy a few years later produces twins – a girl they name Judith and a son called Hamnet. Will’s creativity rubs off on his kids and, as they get a bit older, they become the actors bringing to life his words. Then, it becomes time for the budding author to head to London to take a shot at fame.

While, ostensibly, this is the story of the rise of William Shakespeare and his most famous play, Hamlet, Jessie Buckley is center stage for most of the film. She is a true earth mother and the pain she suffers when she loses a child is palpable. That loss, though, has far greater ramifications than expected.

While the play does not gain its expected prominence until the last act, it does have the impact of Shakespeare’s creation being performed for the first time. Also, as the story itself – about the family – unfolds, we see the genius at work as Will builds the imagery of the play. He uses his kids to help hone the action. We also get a taste of the dialog – ‘To be or not to be,” of course.

The imagining of Shakespeare before “Shakespeare” is done with a lot of invention of his and Agnes’s family life, especially from her point of view. Though she is from much higher birth than her husband, Agnes is a woman of the wild and lives her life that way. While he represents the intellectual side of the marriage, she is the emotional heart and soul of the family and Buckley does it well. Her love for her kids, especially Hamnet, is strong and believable.

While Pascal gives proper energy to his Will Shakespeare, he does not resemble the Bard even a little bit. Not that matters. The pleasure is watching both the imagining of his early life and the creation, over time, of his famous masterpiece.

Focus Features releases "Hamnet" in select theaters on 11/26/27, wide on 12/12/25.