About
The powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare's timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.
Trailer
Cast
Jessie Buckley
Agnes
Paul Mescal
Will
Emily Watson
Mary
Jacobi Jupe
Hamnet
Noah Jupe
Hamlet
Joe Alwyn
Bartholomew
David Wilmot
John
Bodhi Rae Breathnach
Susanna
Olivia Lynes
Judith
Faith Delaney
Young Agnes
Freya Hannan-Mills
Eliza
Dainton Anderson
Edmond
Jessie Buckley
Agnes
Paul Mescal
Will
Emily Watson
Mary
Jacobi Jupe
Hamnet
Noah Jupe
Hamlet
Joe Alwyn
Bartholomew
David Wilmot
John
Bodhi Rae Breathnach
Susanna
Olivia Lynes
Judith
Faith Delaney
Young Agnes
Freya Hannan-Mills
Eliza
Dainton Anderson
Edmond
Reviews
Manuel São Bento
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://fandomwire.com/hamnet-review/ "Hamnet is a true work of art that, despite its slow march and some more challenging moments for the uninitiated, rewards perseverance. It's a film about how pain destroys, but also about the miracle of how art can serve as a vessel for redemption or, at least, for understanding. Chloé Zhao took an empty space in history — the life of a forgotten woman and the silence of a lost son — and filled it with an emotion that's, ultimately, a testament to the power of creation. It's proof that the greatest tragedy in literature was, in fact, born from the greatest possible act of family love and memory." Rating: A-
Read full reviewBrent Marchant
William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, though there’s some disagreement about whether he actually wrote the materials attributed to him. Even sketchier than this are some of the details about his personal life, aspects of his character that have been the subject of much conjecture, especially where they may have influenced his literary undertakings. And an examination of that nexus is where this latest offering from writer-director Chloé Zhao makes its appearance on the stage (or, in this case, the screen). Based on the best-selling speculative novel Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (who co-wrote the screenplay with Zhao), the film presents a fictional take on how the Bard’s most noteworthy work, the quintessential theatrical tragedy, Hamlet, came into being. Essentially, the narrative maintains that the stage play (which, in Shakespeare’s time, used the names “Hamlet” and “Hamnet” interchangeably) came about as a grief/coping response after the author (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes (Jessie Buckley), lost their young son, Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe), to “the pestilence” (assumed to be bubonic plague). It’s presumed that the tragic but heroic Hamlet is a fictional homage to Shakespeare’s courageous, honorable but ill-fated real life progeny (though, admittedly, it’s something of a stretch to understand what connection an 11-year-old boy from rural England might have to a prince of the Danish royal family). Bringing the play to life often led to marital discord between Will and Agnes, given that he was working on the production in London while she maintained the family household in Stratford-on-Avon. And, all the while, the couple struggled to come to terms with their feelings of loss, something that Shakespeare hoped to resolve by creating this latest work. As noble as this sentiment might be (and as truly effectively as it’s addressed in the picture’s closing 15 minutes), the overall execution otherwise leaves much to be desired. To its credit, “Hamnet” features superb performances (particularly by Buckley and Noah Jupe as Hamlet, though Mescal comes across as a bit hammy at times), along with a fine score, stunning visuals and an excellent period piece production design. But, even with all these assets in its favor, this release is sorely in need of editing and a better script, one with fewer repetitious and incongruent elements (most notably the clumsy integration of original Shakespearean on-stage dialog with contemporary off-stage exchanges). These shortcomings, regrettably, make for an often-dull tale, one that prompted a number of viewers at the screening I attended to start nodding off – literally. What’s more, the screenplay would appear to assume that most audience members have an intimate familiarity with both the minutiae of the play and the details of Shakespeare’s biography, inferences that ask an awful lot of viewers upon entering the theater. Indeed, when all is said and done, “Hamnet” truly is a major disappointment, an unapologetic example of Oscar bait, a picture that holds itself in bloated esteem simply because of its lofty attributes and subject matter. But that kind of unrepentant cinematic preening has grown tiresome over time, even though it’s a formula that this filmmaker never shies away from employing in her productions – and this offering, unfortunately, is once again no exception.
Read full reviewClips(3)
"What Do You Wish To Do" Official Clip
"When We Kiss" Official Clip
"I Have To Go" Official Clip
"What Do You Wish To Do" Official Clip
"When We Kiss" Official Clip
"I Have To Go" Official Clip
Featurettes(2)
Paul Mescal on embodying William Shakespeare for Hamnet
Q&A | TIFF 2025
Paul Mescal on embodying William Shakespeare for Hamnet
Q&A | TIFF 2025
Behind the Scenes(2)
Building Hamnet: Designing Chloé Zhao’s Cinematic World - Reel Destinations
Featurette
Building Hamnet: Designing Chloé Zhao’s Cinematic World - Reel Destinations
Featurette