Hamnet

 

This review may contain spoilers!

Hamnet is an adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's historical fiction novel of the same name. This story depicts the young love of William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes. It also more impactfully focuses on the death of their young son, Hamnet, and how their family grieves his passing.

This film is a genuine emotional journey that will tug on your heartstrings hard. There is such human beauty in this film that it becomes so difficult not to feel those intense moments of despair and grief yourself. Hamnet is a historical period drama that grounds you in a quaint rural setting, a wilding place that has the call of the woods just on the cusp of its township. Here, two lives intersect. Agnes, who is accused of being born to a witch and is, in fact, a herbalist and a falconer. And then there is Will, a tanner and learned tutor who finds no passion in these works but a call to write. Will finds himself in complete infatuation with Agnes; her eccentricities are a wonder to him. Their love for one another tumbles together, despite societal customs being truly set against them. They labour in life together, their family grows, and Will comes to work in London. Agnes is a pillar for her children, keeping them healthy and happy through every season. The crux of the movie sees this family dynamic harried by Judith's poor health. On the cusp of falling to plague, we see a dramatisation of Hamnet trading places with his twin sister, 'tricking Death' into taking him instead. A shroud falls over the family, and we see each of them mourn in their own manner. Agnes and Will grow divided, blame is held, and neither can find comfort in their pain. And then a play is forged. Hamlet, Will's great tragedy. Here we see a beautiful response to death, to loss, to the spectre that lingers still. It is a moment of real beauty in the film, where Agnes and Will both find connection in their shared grief. For theatre and literature lovers alike, this is one of the greatest reads of Hamlet that I have ever watched. It is an emotionally harrowing film brimming with raw emotion that you will feel entirely bonded to. Hamnet is one of those films that everyone ought to see; it's cinema at its very finest form.

Chloé Zhao is in fine filmmaking form here, crafting a feature that might just be her very best to date (which is saying something). The style of this film took me a moment to understand, but it is rather picturesque once you have sat with it enough. The whole film sets the camera up as if it is capturing a stage; very still shots that hold a whole room or space. The wilder places are lovingly caught, and higher emotion sees the camera start to shakily run alongside its subject. Max Richter's score for this film is a melancholy piece, really beautiful and emotional. This is a cinematic score that really understands the work it is pairing with deeply.

Paul Mescal, who played Will, isn't always a confident character, but he wears his heart upon his sleeve; Mescal gives a man who can be entirely wretched in his own sense of self but who can bare himself entirely through story. Joe Alwyn, who played Bartholomew, is very much a stoic patriarch of his family home; yet he has a softness for and great chemistry with his onscreen sister, Buckley. Emily Watson, who played Mary, hasn't got her strongest role here, but serves as a good challenge to pair against Buckley; Watson's role has experienced loss and bears this like a stone upon her back. Louisa Harland and Faith Delaney, who played Rowan and Young Agnes respectively, mark a very special moment of joy in this film; a glimpse into what makes Agnes and the point at which she was truly happy with her mother. Jacobi Jupe, who played Hamnet, is an absolutely inspired young performer, given his age; Jupe pours such complex emotion into such a young character. Olivia Lynes and Bodhi Rae Breathnach, who played Judith and Susanna respectively, are also really capable as Will and Agnes' young daughters; I loved the sibling chemistry between Jupe and Lynes, especially. Noah Jupe, who played Hamlet, gives an incredible classic rendition of this famous theatrical role; that moment of wonder at the end of his performance is a moment of cinema I really won't forget.

However, the best performance came from Jessie Buckley, who played Agnes. This character is a very difficult one to get a bead on at first, and Buckley isn't interested in unshrouding that mystery to the audience too soon. Agnes is a wild character, better in the company of the local forest than in polite society. Buckley has such grace with moments like when her character is falconing or concocting natural remedies from the plants she discovers. Agnes can seem very abrasive and quick to anger; she doesn't fall in naturally with the expectations of her station or the Church. Buckley crafts a woman who is fiercely and unapologetically a force unto herself, a fighter and a free spirit. Buckley and Mescal have a very steady chemistry that grows to passion and love before dimming and then finding connection again. Watching Buckley perform the birth scene of the twins was a difficult watch, as were the scenes in which she was treating her childrens' sickness. Buckley presented emotions in such a raw, powerful way that her grief and sorrow felt authentic. I loved seeing her in those final moments of observing the play, seeing some moment of recognition and peace spark within her.

Hamnet is a prickly movie at first. This isn't the sort of story that immediately welcomes the viewer in; it begins rather askance and gives you characters rife with eccentric qualities and a love story that takes time to ignite. The cast of characters isn't always likeable and there are severe abrasive moments that you have to learn and understand. The film is also quite a slow-burning piece; it moves at a very gentle pace that meanders through the lives of Shakespeare's family.

The editing is a big proponent of why this film takes time to really get off the ground. This is cutting at a crawl, which moves us at a very meandering pace.

Justine Mitchell, who played Joan, gives a pretty classic, stereotypical portrayal of the unlikeable stepmother; Mitchell's antagonism with Buckley could have been more deeply explored. David Wilmot, who played John, is just this abrupt force of fatherly abuse; Wilmot has nothing to give beyond a mean-spirited edge.

An emotional juggernaut that captures love and the process of grief with sincerity and expertise. I would give Hamnet a 9.5/10.