The loss of a child is a tragedy no parent should ever have to endure. While William Shakespeare is a titan of history, his private life, specifically his role as a father to three children and the loss of his son, Hamnet, has remained largely in the shadows. Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet provides a moving, believable, fictionalized window into that void, exploring a marriage defined by romance, grief, and the transformation of pain and sadness into art.
Set in the late 1500s, the film follows William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and Agnes (Jessie Buckley) as they build a life in Stratford. However, William’s ambition pulls him toward London, leaving Agnes to helm the household alone. When the plague strikes their household and claims eleven-year-old Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe), the family is left to navigate and move from the misfortune.
Hamnet won’t be for everyone especially those who shy away from slow-burn storytelling. This is a period piece that fully embraces the rhythm and stillness of its time. While the marketing suggests a story centered purely on tragedy, the film instead begins with the complicated love story between William and Agnes. It’s a relationship that feels grounded and authentic, capturing how real couples fall in love and eventually navigate differences and life’s unpredictable turns. The emotional weight of Hamnet does not rest on a single devastating event as it actually unfolds in layers. The first half leans heavily into Agnes’ grief, portrayed with devastating power by Jessie Buckley, who is unquestionably the film’s emotional anchor. Yet the film also recognizes that grief manifests in different forms. In its final act, the perspective shifts to William, and this transition becomes the film’s most powerful revelation showing sorrow, when channeled through creation, can become something enduring and immortal. Buckley delivers a towering performance, but Paul Mescal and Jacobi Jupe are not far off. In the end, Hamnet becomes more than a story of loss it is a meditation on how grief can be transformed into art, leaving audiences in a state of heavy emotional weight long after the credits roll.
Hamnet (2025) Movie Review: Grief Unto Art
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