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Hamnet

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02:24

Hamnet

Name: Hamnet
Director: Chloé Zhao
Genre: Drama, Documentary, History, Romance
Released: 2025
Duration: 2 h 5 min
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, Jacobi Jupe

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Drama
Documentary

2025
Chloé Zhao
125 mins
12

Summary

Historical drama starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal. In 16th century Stratford-upon-Avon, Agnes Hathaway and aspiring playwright Will Shakespeare fall in love, marry and have three children. Over the years, Will grows increasingly absent from the family as he pursues his career in London. Eventually, the couple suffers a terrible loss that each processes separately, though Will's latest play offers possible catharsis.

IMDB

Review

A star rating of 5 out of 5.

James Mottram

The film's the thing, as family tragedy shapes this wrenching but wonderful fictionalised portrait of William Shakespeare through his domestic life. Paul Mescal plays Will, the sensitive playwright who meets and falls for Agnes (Jesse Buckley), an earthy free spirit. Together, they forge a family of three children - including a delightful boy, Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe). But as Will's career takes off in London, causing him to be increasingly absent from their rural Stratford-upon-Avon home, illness strikes - bringing with it unimaginable pain. Adapted from the novel by Maggie O'Farrell, who co-wrote the script with director Chloé Zhao (Nomadland), this is a sensuous, serious work, in tune with the heartbeat of nature and the rhythms of life, as it explores the raw emotions of loss. Mescal and Buckley are sensational, creating a relationship that feels honest and real. Zhao's transcendent work is extraordinary too, especially in the final act, as Mescal's playwright - who is only ever once acknowledged as being the Bard - finds creativity and catharsis in the bleakest of hours.

imdb-square

7.8/10