Our Review

                     Movie: HAMNET

   Rating: PG-13, thematic content, some                   strong sexuality and partial nudity`

                       Length: 2:05

          Release Date: November 26, 2025  

Jeanne: Based on the highly-acclaimed, award-winning novel of the same name by Maggie O’Farrell, HAMNET is directed by Oscar winner Chloé Zhao (THE RIDER, 2017, NOMADLAND, 2020). Both of these women are responsible for penning this remarkable adaptation starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.

 

HAMNET refers to the only son William Shakespeare (Mescal) had with his wife, Agnes (Buckley). In England in 1580, Will was making his way by tutoring Latin. In the beautiful forest near the home where he tutors, he meets Agnes who is spending time with her hawk. Immediately smitten, Will and Agnes begin planning their future, which includes an out-of-wedlock pregnancy.

 

Will’s parents, John (David Wilmot), a glove maker --- and a tyrant --- and Mary Arden (Emily Watson), are furious, but their only option is to allow a marriage. Agnes gets support from her younger brother, Bartholomew (Joe Alwyn), who runs the family farm and protects her from their nasty stepmother.

 

Agnes and Will move into Will’s family home in Stratford-upon-Avon and occupy the attic. Their first child, Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), is born, followed by twins, Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe) and Judith (Olivia Lynes), the smaller of the two, and very fragile. By this time, Will is mostly living in London, writing and working with his troupe of actors.

 

When the plague comes to Stratford, the twins are eleven and Judith is the first to become ill. But it is Hamnet who succumbs to the dreadful disease, leaving Agnes and Will in complete despair. As they begin to drift apart --- from grief and the distance between them --- Agnes focuses on her two daughters, while Will is busy writing one of his most important works.

 

News hits Stratford that Will’s newest play is entitled Hamlet, a common variant of Hamnet in the 16th century. Enraged, Agnes travels to London with Bartholomew to confront Will.

 

She cannot understand how he could use their son as a prop, but as Hamlet unfolds on stage in the packed Globe Theatre, first built in 1599, Agnes is dumbstruck by Will’s words, especially those spoken by Hamlet, played here by Noah Jupe, Jacobi’s older brother in real life. It suddenly becomes clear that Will’s way of dealing with Hamnet’s tragic death is his own.

According to Zhao, HAMNET is about love and death. O’Farrell’s novel, which I loved, is very much respected in this adaptation. Zhao and O’Farrell have managed to capture the essence of this powerful story which was Shakespeare’s inspiration for his masterpiece Hamlet.

 

The beauty from the page has been expertly translated to the screen by Zhao and her cast and crew. Buckley is downright phenomenal. Her onscreen presence illuminates every scene, she perfectly embodies this character who loves nature, animals and healing. Buckley gives a masterclass performance as Agnes ---a role which will not soon be forgotten.

 

Mescal has the dubious honor of bringing William Shakespeare to life --- and he makes it look effortless. His portrayal of this literary genius is convincing and affable. And Mescal and Buckley have a credible, passionate chemistry --- they are terrific together.

 

Almost stealing the entire film are the Jupe brothers. Jacobi is priceless as the very precious Hamnet. But it isn’t all about his looks --- he can truly act, as well. His facial expressions alone are capable of telling an entire story. And Noah, who already has quite the resume, is exceptional delivering Hamlet’s soliloquy in the play.

 

HAMNET is a revelation --- an affecting movie-going experience. Boasting gorgeous cinematography from Director of Photography Lukasz Żal, astounding sets from Production Designer Fiona Crombie and a marvelous soundtrack from Max Richter, Zhao may have another Academy Award winner to celebrate.

 

HAMNET arrives in U.S. theaters in limited release November 26, 2025, and expands December 5, 2025.

 

Opinion: Strong See It Now!

 

David: The new film, HAMNET, directed by two-time Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao, focuses initially on the romance between a young William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his beloved Agnes (Jessie Buckley). The couple soon marry and have three children, a girl Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), and fraternal twins Judith (Olivia Lynes) and Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe). But when tragedy strikes, it dramatically changes the dynamic of their lives and is the impetus for Shakespeare penning his classic  Hamlet.

 

First I must submit to our readers: if the premise of HAMNET seems less than fascinating, the movie is not to be dismissed by serious cinephiles. Based on the award-winning novel by Maggie O’Farrell, with a screenplay by O’Farrell and Zhao, HAMNET features an astonishing performance by Buckley and a brilliant one by Mescal.

 

In addition, Jacobi Jupe is quite amazing as their young son Hamnet. At the end of the film, Jacobi’s real-life, older brother Noah offers a brief but intensely rich portrayal as Hamlet on stage at the Globe Theatre as it appeared in 16th century England. The rest of the main cast is equally critical to the story: Oscar-nominee Emily Watson as Will’s mother Mary and Joe Alwyn as Agnes’ devoted brother Bartholomew.

 

We learn in the movie’s opening that Hamnet and Hamlet, in the 16th century, are actually interchangeable names. O’Farrell’s novel, published in 2020, is considered a fictionalized account of Shakespeare’s son, although she is credited with having done thorough research for her book.

The film depicts a William Shakespeare unlike anything the modern world has imagined him to be. Will spends much of his time away from his family in London working on his craft. This leaves Agnes to care for their three children in a dense forest environment. When Will does come home periodically, there is a palpable tension between the two parents. As Zhao explains, love doesn’t just die, it transforms. It is her hope that HAMNET will be a heavily emotional story to which audiences will relate. She is the first Asian woman to win an Oscar for direction (NOMADLAND in 2020, which also claimed the Best Picture prize).

 

The sequence referred to earlier about the Globe Theatre presentation of Hamlet features about 300 extras as spectators watching the play. This elongated scenario is about as fascinating to witness as anything else you might encounter in a movie. But certainly the performances by Buckley and Mescal, both of whom are past Academy Award nominees, are not to be missed. On a side note, Steven Spielberg is one of the film’s  producers, and the music by Max Richter, largely emphasizing harp and piano, is perfect.

 

HAMNET arrives in U.S. theaters in limited release November 26, 2025, and expands December 5, 2025

 

Opinion: Strong See It Now!