{"id":33256,"date":"2026-01-25T22:20:37","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T03:20:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=33256"},"modified":"2026-01-25T22:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T03:24:09","slug":"hamnet-shows-the-salvific-power-of-theatre-when-facing-grief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=33256","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Hamnet\u2019 Shows The Salvific Power Of Theatre When Facing Grief"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chlo\u00e9 Zhao brings to the silver screen Maggie O\u2019Farrell\u2019s novel, that retraces the fate of one of William Shakespeare\u2019s children, that eventually inspired him to write his play Hamlet. In fact, the written prologue states that in Stratford, \u2018Hamnet\u2019 and \u2018Hamlet\u2019 were considered the same name.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hamnet<\/i><\/b> chronicles the relationship between the Bard (Paul Mescal) and his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley) \u2014 her name in history is also remembered as Anne Hathaway. O\u2019Farrell\u2019s fictionalisation of Shakespeare\u2019s life described Agnes as a \u2018forest witch,\u2019 which is something that is followed by the book in Zhao\u2019s adaptation. This fuels the representation\u00a0 <\/span>of the mysterious woman who is seen as an outsider by the people around her, but is one with nature. The first clue is the way we see Agnes having a special bond with her hawk, following a rising trend of female movie characters connected to falconry<\/span><\/a>. Above all, the film follows the great love story between the Shakespeare spouses, who build a family of three, until the plague takes away one of their twins. What follows is a family crisis that seems insurmountable.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Chlo\u00e9 Zhao\u2019s fifth feature film as director follows the global success of Nomadland<\/i><\/b> and her fleeting foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with The Eternals<\/i><\/b>. In this Elizabethan context she maintains her hallmark as a filmmaker of outdoor cinema. She captures some mesmerising naturalistic settings, as an holistic component of the humanity she is projecting through her sensitive storytelling. Just as her contemporary or futuristic stories, this period film depicts the limitations of men, who are powerless in the face of the circumstances that affect them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hamnet<\/i><\/b> had its world premiere at the 52<\/span>nd<\/sup><\/span> Telluride Film Festival and has received the highest recognitions, winning the Best Motion Picture \u2013 Drama and Best Actress in a Motion Picture \u2013 Drama (for Buckley) at the 83<\/span>rd<\/sup><\/span> Golden Globe Awards. Buckley additionally won the Critics\u2019 Choice Award for Best Actress. Furthermore, the film received eight nominations at the 98<\/span>th<\/sup><\/span> Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Zhao and Best Actress for Buckley.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/ins>\n

The film is brilliantly written, as Shakespeare\u2019s most famous soliloquies within The Tragedy of The Prince of Denmark intertwine with the life of its creator. Not just the famous existential question To Be Or Not To Be<\/i>, but also the O That This Too Solid Flesh Would Melt<\/i>, in which Hamlet wished that his body would just melt, turn to water and become like the dew. Wittily interweaved to the narrative are also the opening lines of the play \u2014 that show the ghost of King Hamlet visiting his son who bears the same name \u2014 and the final words of the protagonist. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Through the decades, a whole cinematic subgenre has developed around the historical and mythological figure of William Shakespeare, with biographical reinterpretations for the silver screen, the most famous being John Madden\u2019s Shakespeare in Love<\/i><\/b>. The Zhao-O\u2019Farrell screenplay enters this category shining for its sophistication, as the Bard\u2019s writings and life are soulfully coalesced with the ceaseless perpetuity of bereavement and wilderness.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The chemistry between Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley is astounding, as is the performance of the child actors playing their offspring: Jaconi Jupe (Hamnet), Olivia Lynes (Judith), Bodhi Rae Breathnach (Susanna). The cast is also enriched by the presence of Emily Watson as Mary Shakespeare, William\u2019s mother; Joe Alwyn as Bartholomew Hathaway, Agnes\u2019 brother; David Wilmot as John Shakespeare, William\u2019s father; Justine Mitchell as Joan Hathaway, Agnes\u2019 stepmother. Each one \u2014 playing wholeheartedly their part in this tragedy of errors \u2014 embodies the relentless attempt of humans to cross boundaries, which aren\u2019t represented by a landscape, but by the emotional and mental hurdles that life has presented them with.<\/span><\/p>\n

In As You Like It<\/i> Shakespeare wrote that \u201cAll the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.<\/i>\u201d Hamnet<\/i><\/b> utterly embraces this idea by transforming reality in theatricality, where art becomes a curative expression to bear the burden of grief and loss.<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Grade: A<\/span><\/p>\n

Photos credits: Focus Features<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Check out more of Chiara\u2019s articles<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n