‘Hamnet’ is Stunningly Gut-Wrenching
Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel of the same name, Hamnet reimagines the life of William Shakespeare’s little-known wife and how the death of their son Hamnet may have inspired his greatest play.
Hamnet is a gut-wrenching portrayal of grief that is almost impossible not to shed a tear over. But it’s also a healing portrait of how art can help you overcome pain and become a unifying experience.
[Warning: Spoilers from Hamnet are below!]
The film starts in 1580, when Will (Paul Mescal) is a scruffy Latin tutor who is considered a disappointment to his family for ignoring the family business in favour of his writings. Wild child Agnes (Jessie Buckley) is a wild “forest witch” with a fascination with falconry, a supernatural foresight, and a connection with the Earth (there is evidence the woman known as Anne Hathaway was called Agnes by her family).
Both are misfits in their families. Agnes is misunderstood, but her adopted family, with just her brother Bartholomew (Joe Alwyn), for company. Will is frequently berated by his father, John (David Wilmot), and religious mother, Mary (Emily Watson), for living in a fantasy world of words.
Meet the woman behind Shakespeare
It’s love at first sight for Will, who happily leaves behind a class of students to flirt with Agnes. She is less impressed with the man but is soon charmed by his awkwardness. The pair have instant chemistry, with him softening her edges and her bringing energy into his mundane life. They quickly embark on an affair that has been toned down on-screen in comparison to the passionate book. Writer/co-writer Chloe Zhao brings the romance out of O’Farrell’s writing, creating sweet moments between Agnes and the young writer.
When she falls pregnant with their first child, they quickly marry. In an early highlight, Will grins proudly to his upset parents upon being told the news of his impending fatherhood. Mescal, while not known for his comedic work, proves he could more than handle a rom-com thanks to their early scenes as Shakespeare in lust.
Hamnet quickly skims through their meeting and the birth of their first child. It knows why people are here and wants to get to that as quickly as possible. This occasionally causes a sense of things happening to Agnes and Will without involving the audience.
Chloe Zhao’s signature naturalism suits Hamnet and effortlessly brings O’Farrell (who also co-writes) to life. Agnes is a woman at one with nature, a healer and early homeopath. During the birth of their first child, she crawls into the roots of the tree to feel at one with nature during labour. It’s clear from Zhao’s work (Nomadland) that she shares some of these feelings with Agnes.
Shakespeare in agony
Hamnet may lure audiences into a false sense of security in the first act. The couple spends over half the film in bliss, giddy in love and building a family together. Darkness approaches after the traumatic birth of their second child. Agnes has a gift of foresight and is troubled to learn she is having twins, as she has always had the vision that two children will stand beside her on her deathbed.
Death lingers over Agnes and her family as the bubonic plague hits England. There is also a sense that the young twins Judith (Olivia Lynes) and Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe) are outrunning death. It’s an inevitable and agonising waiting game as the young children make deals with supernatural powers over who should survive the illness. When Agnes and Mary deal with the inevitable grief, Will is away making his dreams of becoming a playwright a reality.
It’s no spoiler to say Hamnet is about the loss of a child. Even when you know it’s coming, it’s still one of the most agonising scenes in modern cinema history. Hamnet and Judith discuss their interchangeability as twins, often swapping clothes and pretending to confuse their parents by switching places. The idea that one child would perform the ultimate sacrifice and defy death for their sibling is almost as gut-wrenching as what follows.
Hamnet is not your standard Shakespearean film. It’s not about the bard or his accolades, but it’s about a husband and father who just happens to write for his work. It’s not until the final act, when Agnes goes to Stratford-Upon-Avon, that Will becomes William Shakespeare. The final scene, which somehow gets even sadder, perfectly represents how art can heal. The use of Hamnet actor’s real-life older brother, Noah Jupe, adds a new layer to the writing that is almost unbearable to think about. If you’ve ever suffered a loss, the idea of letting that person live on through art is equally cathartic and harrowing.
A performance for the ages in Hamnet
Jessie Buckley’s performance as a grieving mother may go down as one of the most haunting in movie history. Her guttural screams linger long after the credits end. It’s one of the most vulnerable and emotive performances on screen for years. It’s not just in the bigger moments that Buckley shines; she is just as remarkable in the quieter moments. Any Oscar buzz about the Irish actress is entirely deserved.
Paul Mescal is an actor who knows how to say a lot with very little. His large blue eyes can convey grief more than an actor with twenty monologues. Soulful beyond his years, it’s a supporting performance that lets Buckley unleash her power without losing his own emotions. He also shines in the first act as a boyish Will who can’t stop giggling over his beloved. Mescal’s Will visibly ages over the years, becoming more jaded and withdrawn from life. By the time grief hits the family, Will is unrecognisable from the tutor skipping class to woo a woman with a hawk.
Emily Mortimer, as Agnes’ mother-in-law, may have minimal screentime, but she does enough to make an impact in it. Her one monologue is a breathtaking piece of woman-to-woman advice. Jacobi Jupe is phenomenal as the young Hamnet, portraying a young boy trying to stay brave in the face of death. Numerous emotional moments may have failed with Jupe’s remarkable performance as a scared child bluffing to the grim reaper.
Łukasz Żal’s cinematography, when paired with Zhao’s writing, adds a naturalistic tone to the story, which is ultimately about the circle of life. The forest and the ground beneath Agnes are almost as crucial to the story as Will himself. The film’s striking look is stark in its intimacy, making Hamnet feel like a small story about big themes. Zhao is a master at tackling big topics through the small, mundane moments in life.
Zhao does extraordinary work with a story mostly told through an inner monologue. Her minor changes balance the source material and on-screen adaptation perfectly. The change of the narrative to linear allows the audience to grow with the couple and enjoy the happier moments before it all comes crashing back to earth. Restructuring the novel creates more of an impact on audiences, especially those who do not know what is coming.
One of the largest changes to the source material is that Will has much more time on screen. In the book, he is predominantly away from his home and spoken about through Agnes’ internal dialogue. While this slightly dampens the impact of the story of Agnes grieving alone, it gives the film a well-rounded tale of love and family. Expanding his role allows Paul Mescal to do what he does best: break the audience’s hearts.
Hamnet could have gone so wrong, taking O’Farrell’s novel and turning it into an oversentimental tearjerker. Yet, Zhao understands how to never overexplain or exploit the tragedy. It lets the emotions wash over the audience rather than shouting them in their face. For anyone marked safe from the tears in the second act, prepare for a tension-relieving final act that offers a much-needed emotional relief.
Hamnet is a remarkable film that captures grief without needing to explain it. There are no large monologues and philosophical musings about life and death; with the naturalistic writing and vulnerable performances, it doesn’t need to. It’s not without flaws, but very few films have captured the universal pain of grief and the healing power of art like Hamnet.
Hamnet is currently playing in theatres! Have you checked out this film yet? Plan on catching it in theatres? Let us know your thoughts @BoxSeatBabes on all major social media platforms!
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