To watch “Hamnet” — director Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of the eponymous 2020 novel by Maggie O’Farrell — is to feel held. The movie reimagines the circumstances widely speculated to have inspired Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” telling the story through the eyes of Agnes (Jessie Buckley), her husband William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and their children Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), Judith (Olivia Lynes) and Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe).
“Hamnet” is a principal example of the magic that transpires when all aspects of a film are operating at the highest level. Its magnificence can be attributed to the synergy between Łukasz Żal’s sweeping cinematography, Max Richter’s deeply touching score and transformative cast performances.
The film, which grapples with themes of life, love and death, has earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Original Score.
Film critics often use the word “revelatory” to describe an actor’s performance in a given role, and it is often hard to know exactly what that means. But no other adjective can adequately summarize Buckley’s nuanced portrayal of grief in “Hamnet.”
Buckley’s turn as Agnes transcends even the highest expectations for an actor, but the brilliance of her acting is natural — she embodies Agnes with the utmost humanity. She is both tender and fierce at once, epitomizing the spectrum of a mother’s love for her children, which, at its core, is the film’s driving force.
Tasked with acting opposite Buckley, Mescal takes it in stride. He is solid and earnest as Shakespeare, a father, artist and strikingly romantic soul. Similarly to Buckley, Mescal offers a deeply human portrayal of a man who, throughout history, has been made larger than life. In his earnestness, Mescal plays not William Shakespeare, the great poet, but rather Will, the husband and father.
It is Jupe’s remarkable talent that solidifies “Hamnet” as an extraordinary film. Jupe understands Hamnet as only children can understand each other: They have big dreams but real fears and a much better understanding of what is going on around them than adults think they do. As such, Hamnet’s character is not flattened by a representation of a naive and one-dimensional child. He — both Jupe and Hamnet — is precious, endearing and brave.
These three together, along with the other cast members, including Breathnach, Lynes, Noah Jupe, Emily Watson and Joe Alwyn, are tremendous. Zhao’s direction is brought to justice by this uniquely adept group of actors, assembled by casting director Nina Gold, who is nominated in the Academy’s category, Best Casting.
The Academy Award-nominated screenplay, co-written by Zhao and O’Farrell, while sometimes overly poetic, endeavours to honor the legacy of the Shakespeares’ story, both the historical family and the imagined characters. It carries the audience from the English countryside to the stage of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in London with a depth of care and craft that brings us closer to them. The audience immediately holds onto the almost tangible intimacy of their world — and doesn’t let go.
Rebecca Goodman is a university news senior staff writer covering career and alumni. She is a junior from Cambridge, MA, studying English. Outside of writing, you can find her at the Avon or in the basement of the Rock.
