Director Chloe Zhao returns to the big screen with a tale of love and loss. Hamnet tells the tale of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his early life with his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley). After getting married and beginning their family with one child Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), the couple celebrate the birth of their twins Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe) and Judith (Olivia Lynes). Years later, tragedy strikes and it both tests the Shakespearean and inspires them.
The family tragedy at the center of this film is strengthened by the time we spend getting to know the Shakespeares beforehand. While the premise of the film has been well established in its marketing, Hamnet begins as a bit of a tender love story. When we’re introduced to Agnes, we meet a headstrong, tomboy-ish young woman who is more annoyed by William’s romantic interest and pursuit than smitten. Agnes carries with her a lot of shame due to the stigma of being the daughter of a woman infamous in her village for being crazy and possibly into witchcraft. As a result, William’s treatment of her as someone special makes their falling in love seem a natural eventuality. William on the other hand is the son of a strict and slightly uncaring father, a man whom he fears he may eventually become; stunting his creativity and inspiration. In Agnes, he finds a rock to lean on. Their strong connection and resultant family makes the turn their lives fatefully take all the more tragic.
Like their parents, Hamnet and Judith share a special connection as fraternal twins. Their bond is closer than many siblings due to this and it shows in their relationship onscreen. The ordeal they go through as siblings underscores their love for each other and makes the end result all the more tragic. The emotionality present in this depiction has to be credited in large part to Jupe who has not only the best onscreen performance by a child actor since Brooklynn Prince in The Florida Project, but one of the best child actor performances ever. His ability to emote and engender empathy is beyond his years and sets the baseline for the emotional resonance that is the lynchpin for the entire film.
After experiencing tragedy, Buckley and Mescal offer great performances depicting how such tragedy can strain a marriage to the brink of collapse. William tries to retreat into his work while Agnes struggles with her grief and the compounding effect of William’s absence as he travels to London to write and direct his plays. Buckley’s portrayal of the stages of grief are pitch perfect, culminating in her third act attendance at a performance of Hamlet and the therapeutic effect of seeing William’s play inspired by his own processing of grief play out in front of her. Agnes’ reaction is the film’s most emotional moment, with its conclusion hinging upon Buckley, and she nails not only the scene but perhaps Oscar gold. Hamnet is a film short on narrative heft but heavy on emotionality and character study and thus is dependent on its actors for any power it exudes. Buckley, Mescal, and Jupe all offer performances that make the film something worthy of watching. For some viewers, the emotional character study will be enough to over the lack of story, but for others it may be a flaw.
Image: Focus Features
