Movie Number 4 of 2026
The Movie: Hamnet
The Cinema: The Rivoli, Village Cinemas, Camberwell
Runtime: Two hours five minutes
Stars: 5
Was there any way this film wasn't going to get anything less than five stars off of me? Probably not.
Why?
Well.
- It's about Shakespeare's family.
- I love Shakespeare. It's one of my favourite things.
- By extension it's about Hamlet.
- It's based on a beloved book of mine.
- It's set in the country I call home in my heart.
- It has two of the best actors of our day in it.
- And it's directed by a fabulous woman director.
Absolute chef's kiss.
I'm also biased.
And I don't care.
Based on Maggie O'Farrell's book of the same name, Hamnet follows the story of Agnes (Jessie Buckley) a woman on the outer of the village. Agnes, a healer, and William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) meet and marry, having three children. Susannah, and twins Judith and Hamlet. Shakespeare's work as an actor and playwright takes him to London for extended periods of time, leaving Agnes at home with family. When the plague rampages through the village, Hamnet dies, leaving a grieving family.
None of this is unknown. The general story of Shakespeare and his family is found in the history books.
What Maggie O'Farrell has done has taken the history and made it about women, the role of family, and a study of grief. It's incredible. Working with the director, Chloe Zhao on the script, the movie follows the book closely and loses none of its charm.
Chloe Zhao's direction is flawless. Lucasz Zal's cinematography is as beautiful as it is stirring.
This movie belongs to Jessie Buckley. She gives flawless performance as Agnes, the outsider, the healer, the mother, the wife and the seeker. You can relate to every emotion that crosses her face. You watch her at the theatre, where she sees how Shakespeare has processed his grief by writing and performing his most famous work.
Buckley won a Golden Globe for this performance. I reckon she'll be up for an Oscar as well.
It's stunning.
It's going to be in my top ten movies of the year. If anybody wants to see it, I'll happily go again.
It's absolutely divine.
And yes, I'm biased. Don't care.
No comments:
Post a Comment