What’s it about?

An adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s book of the same name, Hamnet is the story of William (Paul Mescal) and Agnes (Jessie Buckley) as they meet, fall in love, and deal with tragedy.

What’d we think?

I went into Hamnet completely blind (a rarity for me), and I thought it was a crushingly beautiful love story buoyed by exceptional performances from the entire cast, with only a few pacing issues towards the end that hold it back from a perfect score.

We’re introduced to Agnes in the greenest forest you’ve ever seen, establishing her deep connection to the natural world as a theme that runs throughout the film. William first sees her through a window as he tutors some young boys in Latin. He’s an educated man of words, and while he’s clearly more at home in the city his love for Agnes exposes him to the way of nature that she embodies. These early scenes are tenderly framed, and everytime we return to the woods that vibrant but gentle energy returns. We skip along at a merry pace, with their marriage and the birth of their first child setting up the early conflict between them – while William loves his wife and child, his creative side is stifled in the countryside and he longs to be closer to the theatre scene in London. His departure to the city sets up the the film’s focus on Agnes and their children, with William’s absence being clearly felt, if not resented.

When tragedy strikes the family, the conflict between the two leads develops into a searing portrayal of grief and the way that people respond differently to it, particularly given the attitudes of the time. The two leads have been without fault up until now, but this tragedy serves as the catalyst to kick their performances into overdrive. Buckley dominates the centre of the film, and Mescal shines brightest at the end, but it’s the performance by the young actor Jacobi Jupe in the title role that stuck with me – it’s easily the best performance from a young actor that I’ve seen in recent memory, and I completely seriously think he should be in contention for some statues when award season rolls around.

Director Chloé Zhao absolutely knocks it out of the park with this adaptation, with the screenplay being a collaboration between her and O’Farrell. While I felt that the film drags a little in the third act, it really brings it home at the conclusion. Hamnet is absolutely stunning throughout, and is one of the best kinds of cinema experiences – a beautifully cathartic tragedy that taps into the humanity at the core of it’s characters.