Dir: Chloe Zhao
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Joe Alwyn, Emily Watson, David Wilmot, Jacobi Jupe, Olivia Lynes, Noah Jupe
Jessie Buckley commands the screen with an Oscar-worthy turn in Chloe Zhao’s gorgeously crafted Shakespearean drama, a film that packs an emotional punch but lacks the nuance of Zhao’s more modest earlier projects
Chinese-born filmmaker Chloe Zhao made a striking entrance into indie cinema in the 2010s following the release of her heartfelt drama “Songs My Brother Taught Me” in 2015 and the much-praised modern western “The Rider” a couple of years later. Yet it wasn’t until the world was turned upside down by a global pandemic that Zhao truly captured the spotlight. Despite restrictions preventing audiences from flocking to the cinema regularly, the writer-director’s third feature film, “Nomadland”, quietly resonated with viewers, telling the story of America’s nomad communities and unexpectedly raking in $40 million on a shoestring $5 million budget.
With blockbusters absent from theatres during a year of empty marquees, “Nomadland” and other indie gems found rare breathing room. After its historic Best Picture win at the 93rd Academy Awards, the film’s acclaim soared even higher. Zhao herself made history, becoming only the second woman ever to win the Academy Award for directing, following Kathryn Bigelow‘s trailblazing achievement for “The Hurt Locker” a decade earlier.
Riding the wave of her Oscar triumph, Zhao was quickly recruited by Disney to helm “Eternals”, the 26th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The result, however, fell short of expectations. Studio constraints and constant interference stifled Zhao’s creative voice, leaving only glimpses of her signature visual flair. The film struggled under the weight of a cumbersome script, shaped by a committee of newcomers tasked with fitting Zhao’s vision into Marvel’s rigid mold.
Though her first blockbuster stumbled, fans like myself remained unfazed, knowing Zhao’s creative wings were clipped on “Eternals” and the MCU itself was losing its lustre after its dazzling third phase. Now, Zhao returns to her storytelling roots with an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell‘s 2020 novel “Hamnet”, a fictional account of William Shakespeare and his son Hamnet, who died at age eleven in 1596. While “Hamnet” may not be a conventional blockbuster, it is far from a modest indie. With industry legends Sam Mendes and Steven Spielberg backing the project, and Universal and Focus Features championing it as their top Oscar contender, this historical drama arrives with heavyweight support.
From the opening frames, the film’s lush production values immerse us in 16th-century Stratford-upon-Avon. Here, a fresh-faced William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) works off his father’s debt by tutoring a wealthy family’s children in Latin. Amid these lessons, William is drawn to the family’s enigmatic eldest daughter, Agnes (Jessie Buckley), who regularly ventures into the woods with her pet Hawk. Their secret romance blossoms, fuelled by the fear that their families would never approve.
Years pass, and the couple settle into married life with three children: eldest daughter Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) and twins Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe) and Judith (Olivia Lynes). William, who first moved to London as a glover, soon finds his calling as the playwright we all know today, drifting further from his family in Stratford. Agnes, increasingly alone and anxious, longs for his return as plague and famine sweep through Warwickshire and beyond. Haunted by visions of only two children at her deathbed, Agnes becomes convinced that one will be lost to the plague. In her desperate efforts to shield Judith, she is blindsided when Hamnet succumbs instead. Grief and frustration consume Agnes, especially with William absent during their darkest hour. Yet out of this tragedy, William finds the inspiration to write one of his greatest works, “Hamlet”.
Catching an exceptionally early UK screening of “Hamnet” at the London Film Festival, months before its January release, I felt a surge of reassurance: Zhao has rediscovered the creative spark that first made her a force on the indie scene a decade ago. Her latest film masterfully weaves the close-knit intensity of a family drama with the sweeping grandeur of the historical epics of the nineties. Through Zhao’s evocative direction and Lukasz Zol‘s stunning and intimate cinematography, you are not just shown Shakespearean times—you are swept into them, living alongside the bard’s family. This is Shakespeare reimagined, focusing on a fictionalized portrait of the man and his own heartbreaks, rather than the tragedies he wrote. Though I have not read O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel, her collaboration with Zhao on the script suggests a faithful adaptation. The film’s raw, unflinching storytelling echoes the darkest corners of Shakespeare’s own tragedies, making it easy to believe this tale could have inspired “Hamlet” itself.
The last time a fictionalized Shakespeare story generated this much awards buzz was with “Shakespeare in Love” in 1998. Its contentious victory over the revered “Saving Private Ryan” still sparks debate decades later, but in hindsight, its playful tone stands in stark contrast to the sombre weight of “Hamnet”—a comedy/tragedy pairing that would make for a truly intriguing double feature.
Zhao continues her cinematic exploration of grief, love, and identity, channelling these themes most powerfully through Agnes, quite remarkably embodied by Jessie Buckley in an incredibly challenging performance that commands the screen. Buckley, already celebrated for her consistency and depth, delivers a raw, emotionally charged portrayal that feels destined for Oscar recognition. Paul Mescal, too, impresses as William, but here he becomes the catalyst for Agnes’ turmoil, intensifying her sense of loss and fractured identity.
Emily Watson and Joe Alwyn, as William’s mother and Agnes’ brother, deliver performances brimming with Shakespearean intensity, channeling the darkness that shaped both the playwright and his era. The script’s theatrical dialogue deepens the film’s embrace of Agnes’ mystical reputation—rumored to be the child of a forest witch, she is portrayed as deeply attuned to the wild. This mystical thread leads to the film’s most wrenching moments: Agnes giving birth alone in the woods, and the harrowing emotional rollercoaster as she delivers the twins, scenes that left much of the audience visibly shaken.
For all of Zhao’s careful work in subtly building characters and family dynamics in the first two acts, much of this is swept aside in the film’s gut-wrenching but cliché finale. Without spoiling specifics, the final emotional crescendo grants William and Agnes long-awaited closure after their son’s death, but the understated grace of the previous two hours is replaced by a familiar, awards-season melodrama. The finale seems engineered to wring tears from the audience, feeling more like a calculated move by Zhao and her producers to secure Oscar attention. My suspicions were only heightened when Max Richter‘s haunting “On the Nature of Daylight” began to play—a stunning piece of modern classical music, but one that has been used to devastating effect in film and television many times, most memorably in “The Last of Us” and “Arrival”. As the mournful score swelled and the audience around me wept, I found myself pulled out of the moment, thinking instead of Denis Villeneuve’s film, and feeling that this was a disappointingly easy choice for such a powerful scene. Personally, I longed for a piece from Richter that echoed the film’s earlier, more delicate score—something just as melancholic, but with a sincerity that felt less calculated and more heartfelt to match the movie’s strengths.
The Verdict:
With “Hamnet”, Chloe Zhao cements her place as one of cinema’s most instinctive storytellers, weaving technical mastery and raw emotion through nearly every minute. Jessie Buckley delivers a performance that lingers long after the credits roll. Yet, while the film’s sweeping production and awards-season trappings create a drama that is hard to ignore, they also strip away some of the subtlety and quiet depth that made Zhao’s earlier works so resonant.
Hamnet is showing in UK Cinemas from 9th January
Dan Loves Film 