“Hamnet” A Powerful Must See Film
- Matt Palmer
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
From Academy Award winning writer/director Chloe Zhao, “Hamnet” tells the powerful story of love and loss.
Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, celebrate the birth of a twin boy and girl and when the young boy Hamnet died at a young age, it inspires Shakespeare to write his masterpiece “Hamlet.”
“Hamnet” is one of the films that the Dietrich Theater was showing during their Winter Film Festival a couple months ago that I wanted to check out, yet didn’t get a chance to do so. Now that I finally had the chance to check the film out, I can see why this film received a lot of attention during the awards season.
“Hamnet” is a profoundly moving and visually stunning exploration of grief and is most definitely one of the best films released last year. The acting is extremely phenomenal and Jessie Buckley really serves her Oscar win!
Rather than centering on William Shakespeare’s career, the story actually focuses more on his wife, Agnes. Her story is overwhelmingly emotional, and it could easily leave the viewer a bit teary-eyed, especially towards the film’s final moments.
There’s a very pivotal moment at the end where we see Agnes, initially angry, finding communal healing and reaching out to touch the actor playing Hamlet (who’s based off Hamnet), symbolizing her acceptance of her son’s death and a reconciliation with her husband.
At the end, we also see how the play is Shakespeare’s way of ensuring their son’s name is never forgotten, turning raw pain into immortal art. Also at that moment, Agnes
finally feels a bit of relief that her husband is, in his own way, honoring their child.
There's a truly haunting, yet emotional moment in the film where young Hamnet stays by his twin sister Judith’s bedside as she suffers from the bubonic plague. He believes he can “will” the illness away from her and onto himself, essentially trading his life for hers. And, that entire scene, along with young Jacobi Jupe’s acting, is just simply astounding and emotional!
The film “Hamnet” has received an overwhelming positive response, characterized by intense emotional impact and critical/audience acclaim. It has been described by most critics and audiences as a “heartbreaking masterpiece” and a “cinematic ritual” that explores the devastating grief of William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, following the death of their son.
MPA: Rated PG-13 for thematic content, some strong sexuality, and partial nudity (runtime 125 minutes)
Initial release date: November 26, 2025
Streaming service: Peacock/various PVOD services
At Chloé Zhao's request, Paul Mescal got genuinely drunk for the scene in which William Shakespeare is drunk. Mescal said it was a fun experiment, but admitted he was hungover the next day.
While the name of William Shakespeare's wife is usually spelled Anne Hathaway, in legal documents her father spelled her name Agnes. In the early modern period it was common for names to have alternate spellings. Maggie O'Farrell chose to use the name Agnes for her protagonist.
Filmed in sequence.
The scene where Will asks Hamnet if he will be brave was partially improvised. In Jacobi Jupe's final callback for the role, Paul Mescal informed Chloé Zhao that he was going to purposely mess with the scene to test Jupe. As Mescal said his line, he threw Jupe over his shoulder, and Jupe responded in character. Zhao wrote the rough-housing into the final script.
Sir Sam Mendes was originally set to direct, with Tom Holland cast as William Shakespeare. Mendes still served as producer on the final film.
Agnes recites (a translation of) the opening of the Nine Herbs Charm, recorded in Old English in the tenth century.
Hamnet (2025) received 11 nominations at the BAFTA Film Awards, the most nominations ever for a female-directed film.
With this film, Chloé Zhao became the fourth woman to direct multiple Best Picture Academy Award-nominated films, having previously directed Nomadland (2020). The first three are:
The Globe Theatre scenes took four days to film.
Jessie Buckley actually made this film after Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Bride! (2026) which was released several months later.
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