Hamnet (2025) Movie Review NO SPOILERS: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn

Plot

Set in the 1580s and ’90s, the movie sets aside the “Great Man” history of William Shakespeare to focus on the woman behind him. Because, as you know, every great man is a woman.

Agnes (Jessie Buckley) is a fierce, natural healer who sees the world in ways others can’t. She meets a struggling Latin tutor, William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), and their connection is immediate and romantic.

While William builds a life in London’s theaters, Agnes remains in Stratford to raise their children. In 1596, the bubonic plague strikes their home, leading to the sudden, agonizing death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe).

The movie’s last act explores how this private, shattering grief eventually transfigures into the greatest play ever written: Hamlet. The last act is a STAGE PLAY of Hamlet, and it is a sad and heartwarming love letter of a father to his dead son and grieving wife.

The Review

• Jessie Buckley’s Agnes: In 2026, this is being hailed as a “career-defining” turn. Buckley portrays a mother’s grief not as a quiet sadness, but as a primal, guttural force. Her chemistry with the forest of Warwickshire — shot with Chloé Zhao’s signature naturalism — makes her feel less like a character and more like a force of nature. She also won Best Actress at the 2026 Oscars.
• The Visual Language: Cinematographer Łukasz Żal (Cold War) and Zhao create a sensory world where you can almost smell the earth and the medicinal herbs. The film uses light and shadow to bridge the gap between the mundane domestic life in Stratford and the ghostly, candlelit stages of the Globe.
• Max Richter’s Score: Building on his work in The Leftovers, Richter’s score for Hamnet is already a classic. It is a “wall of sound” that guides the audience through the movie’s most difficult sequences with an almost religious intensity.
• Emotionally Exhausting: A common critique is that the film is almost too effective. Many viewers find the depiction of Hamnet’s illness and death so visceral that it makes the film difficult to re-watch. Personally, I DID NOT ENJOY watching this excellent movie, except for the final act.
• Biographical Speculation: Some Shakespearean scholars have argued that the film relies too heavily on “biographical determinism,” linking every line of Hamlet directly to the boy’s death, though most audiences have found this to be the film’s most moving element. Remember, Hamnet in itself is a NOVEL by Maggie O’Farrell. It is NOT A HISTORICAL FACT. You’ll have to study on your own to know about Shakespeare the writer and Shakespeare as a family man.

2026 Awards & Industry News

• The Oscar Sweep: At the Academy Awards, Hamnet was one of the night’s big winners, taking home Best Actress (Buckley), Best Original Score (Richter), and Best Cinematography.
• Paul Mescal’s “Double Year”: 2026 is being called the “Year of Mescal.” Between his quiet, intense performance as Shakespeare in Hamnet and his upcoming lead role in the Beatles Biopic (playing Paul McCartney), he is one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood.

Summary

Hamnet is a profound meditation on The Alchemy of Loss, arguing that art is the only vessel strong enough to carry the weight of a child’s absence. In the story, they expressed it through Shakespeare writing the play and writing/acting in the stage play within the movie.

By shifting the lens from the “genius” of the playwright to the “spirit” of the mother, Chloé Zhao suggests that Shakespeare’s greatest work wasn’t written with ink, but with the shared blood of a family that refused to let a name be forgotten.

Hamnet suggests that out of our most silent, private tragedies, something of universal, enduring wonder can be born.

Shop

Watch Hamnet

I Love HR Notebook

Shop on Amazon

Business Company Logo CUSTOMIZABLE Khaki Trucker Hat

(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

(As a Zazzle Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)