Hamnet (2025)
Directed by: Chloé Zhao
Premise: Based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell. Agnes (Jessie Buckley) meets and marries William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and raises their children in the country while he attempts to make a living as a writer in London. Their son Hamnet dies, and in his grief Shakespeare writes his greatest play.
What Works: Hamnet is a portrait of a family and although it is set hundreds of years ago the story and characters feel real and even contemporary but not anachronistic. The story tracks Agnes and William Shakespeare from their first meeting through the death of their son and how they navigate that tragedy. Period pieces can sometimes feel removed from our lives but Hamnet is rooted in experiences that transcend time: love, parenthood, and loss. Hamnet deals with a terrible tragedy but it never feels maudlin. Filmmaker Chloé Zhao’s filmmaking style has a confidence and control that keeps the film steady. Her films possess an austere beauty as seen in Nomadland and The Rider. But in Hamnet, Zhao and cinematographer Lukasz Zal allow for stylized images and unusual angles that heighten the reality. Max Richter’s music score is perfectly suited to the film’s style and tone. Hamnet is an intensely emotional film which is partly attributable to the performances by Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal as Agnes and William Shakespeare. The film takes its time early on to establish the relationship between Agnes and William and their love and affection for each other is vivid. The loss of their son is just as intense and Agnes’ emotional journey is wrenching. Although the storytelling is relatively straightforward, Hamnet makes associations that give this film a spiritual sense of mystery. Agnes is deeply connected to nature and Shakespeare has his writing and their artisanship connects each of them to the world in a profound way. The death of their son and Shakespeare’s memorialization of Hamnet through the play connects the characters and the audience to something profound and mysterious about existence and the capacity of art to connect us with ineffable qualities of life.
What Doesn’t: What’s curiously absent from Hamnet is the boy. He’s in the movie of course but Hamnet isn’t much of a character. He’s established as a typical preteen boy and there are some effective family moments especially between Hamnet and his sister but as a character he’s generally undefined. However, Hamnet is primarily about Agnes Shakespeare, her relationship to the natural world, and her reconciliation with grief and all of that is done very effectively.
Bottom Line: Hamnet is a beautifully made film. Everything about it works in unison to produce a vision of the world that is much deeper and more interesting than it initially appears. This is a film that opens up the more it’s contemplated and examined.
Episode: #1078 (December 14, 2025)