Chloé Zhao’s Luminous ‘Hamnet’ Is a Devastating Shakespearean Experience of Loss and Resilience 

Alci Rengifo

Beyond ove, loss and sorrow are the most universal of human experiences. Not even historical giants are immune to them. Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet” lures us in promising to gaze into a side of William Shakespeare we have never seen onscreen. Four centuries ago, the greatest playwright of all time was also a husband and father, grappling with life as it was lived in late 16th century England. And yet, Zhao’s “Hamnet” isn’t really about Shakespeare, shifting the gaze to his wife and a powerful speculation on how they endured a great loss. This film is based on Maggie O’Farrell’s luminous 2020 novel, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction. Both begin with a simple, yet haunting historical note that becomes a starting point for exploring the ways a deep bond can be shaken by tragedy, and how a deep wound can lead to the creation of astounding art.

Without any hint of historical foresight, “Hamnet” opens on a woman named Agnes (Jessie Buckley) asleep at the base of a giant tree, surrounded by a forest that almost feels ethereal. She awakens and we see she has a pet falcon. This strange woman catches the eye of a young William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), the son of a local glove maker who is tutoring Agnes’ siblings in Latin. When he follows after her to get a name, the attraction between the two is instant. Soon enough, Agnes is pregnant, to the anger of Will’s stern mother, Mary (Emily Watson), who has heard the hearsay that Agnes is the spawn of some forest witch. Will’s father, John (David Wilmot), sees an opportunity for the marriage to help wipe out a debt he owes to Agnes’ family. The union leads to three children, including a son, Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe). But happiness is fleeting for Will, who is a frustrated artist writing plays at night by candlelight. Agnes realizes that he needs to go to London to find himself. Will agrees and divides his time between the stage and returning to their small town to be with the family. Then, the plague is in the air and it will be young Hamnet who is struck down by disease. 

“Those emotions and capacities are within every one of us,” Zhao told Entertainment Voice when discussing the humanizing factor of the story’s take on Shakespeare’s life. “What Paul and Jessie have inside of them is my North Star. I’m not looking at the historical interpretations, so my truth is in the moment with these actors.” It is a return to a more intimate scale for the director, who won a Best Director Oscar for “Nomadland,” a moving portrait of American life in the wake of the Great Recession. After that film also won Best Picture, Zhao gave blockbuster filmmaking a try with Marvel’s “Eternals,” a visually lyrical yet overcooked superhero romp. “Hamnet” has no need to oversell or exaggerate. Zhao co-wrote the screenplay with O’Farrell, aiming for the core of the novel’s story. Whereas the book switches between timelines, the film chooses a linear structure that allows us to see the evolution of a marriage. There is the rush of early romance between Will and Agnes, who are both outsiders drawn passionately to each other’s uniqueness. Agnes is linked closely to nature and is an expert at using herbs and plants. She would be so happy always in these woods, while Will at night creates characters on paper, reciting to himself dialogue that one day will grace “Romeo and Juliet.”

Zhao and cinematographer Łukasz Żal evoke these early moments with a dreamlike quality, bringing a bygone era to life while capturing how initial joy can feel for a young couple. The music by Max Richter never overpowers the images and stays gorgeously minimalist. This would have been a brilliant enough take on how difficult it has always been to be an artist, without the comedy and cheer of “Shakespeare in Love.” The great playwright is here an unsure talent striving to find some way to be discovered. And then Zhao shifts to what this story is actually about when oh so young Hamnet dies in a scene of nearly overwhelming agony. When she expresses the torture of sudden loss, Jessie Buckley delivers a tour de force moment that could point towards an Oscar nomination. The mood in the air then becomes unbearably heavy in this home. Agnes turns into a ghost of her former self, boiling with understandable rage when Will insists he needs to go back to work, which is really just a way of running away from the pain. This is a film that understands how pain is not always a loud scream, but achingly quiet as when Agnes and Mary prepare Hamnet’s body for burial. Every passing day can seem unreal. A year may elapse since her son’s death and Agnes will observe that a year can feel like nothing.

“Hamnet” is really more of a potent historical speculation when it comes to its key incident. Both the novel and movie cite the historical fact that the Shakespeares had a boy named Hamnet, who died at age 11 in 1596. At the time, the names Hamnet and Hamlet were considered the same, leading to the idea that Shakespeare must have surely named his most famous play, “Hamlet,” after the son that was lost. As Zhao pointed out, “Maggie told me all the historical accounts and paintings were done after he [Shakespeare] had died. So a lot of speculation and projections have accumulated for a long time.” Zhao wonderfully extends the novel’s climactic moment, when Agnes discovers that Will has indeed written a new play with her son’s name and so she treks to London to see it for herself. It is a moment that celebrates the catharsis of art in a way where you may never see “Hamlet” as a play the same way again. Zhao doesn’t stage the moment as some big reveal or wink of a work of art we all know. The movie behaves as if “Hamlet” has never been staged anywhere before. In this story, what Will has written may be the only way he knows how to reckon with tragedy. So many great plays, screenplays, songs or paintings have been born out of some deep wound the artist couldn’t cope with without shaping it into something. 

“Hamnet” is a shimmering and piercing film, more so because of how it holds back. The production design is stellar, capturing the cold and grit of 1590s England and the dialogue has moments of genuine eloquence, like Will impressing Agnes with talk of Greek mythology. Yet, this never behaves like some grand period feature. Wide shots are constantly used to create the sensation we are distant witnesses to two individuals who built a life together and had a shattering event strike at it. You may have never seen a performance of “Hamlet” and still relate to this couple. Paul Mescal’s portrayal of the historical icon is measured, subtly giving him those touches of the creative whose mind is always somewhere else, then displaying a fragile sensitivity in the face of genuine pain. You cannot run away from some of life’s cruelties, which can make persevering feel nearly impossible. The sun will still rise tomorrow and those left behind continue living. “Hamnet” is one of the year’s best films for capturing that with a poet’s delicate touch.

“Hamnet” releases Nov. 26 in select theaters and expands Dec. 12 in theaters nationwide.