What Do You Wish To Do Hamnet?: A Film Review

Hamnet, inspired by Maggie O’Farrell’s novel of the same name, tells the story of Anne Hathaway (no, not the actress) and her family, exploring grief, loss, love, and motherhood. The book and the movie are works of historical fiction, but they are inspired by Hathaway’s real life: her marriage to William Shakespeare, their three children (Susannah, Judith, and Hamnet), and the loss of their son Hamnet to the plague when he was eleven years old, which historians believe influenced Shakespeare to write the tragedy Hamlet.

Will you be brave?

– Hamnet

As an English nerd and Shakespeare fan, I loved that this movie decentered Shakespeare as this mythic figure. This film creates a version of Anne Hathaway and William Shakespeare that are people: Agnes and Will. Their deep love for each other is the through-line that follows the couple throughout this movie. Agnes is not less important than Will because she stays in the countryside and cares for the children; the movie is focused on her! And what a wonderful character she is. Agnes, with her unruly dark brown hair and her strange nature, wanders in the woods, taming a hawk, and stubbornly sticking to her own spiritual practices despite the lack of approval from her foster family and the townspeople around her. And it’s clear that Will loves her so deeply! He walks with her in the woods, telling her his favorite stories (most poignantly, the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice), and he begins to write Romeo & Juliet during their courtship. Despite the couple often being separated due to Will’s work in London, they are not unhappy. He understands why she can’t move to the city, relishes the time when he is able to be home with his family, and makes plans for their shared life to bring them closer, but still safe and comfortable for his wife. 

It’s clear throughout the entire film that Will and Agnes are fantastic parents, which I love. I feel like it’s so rare nowadays to see people who love being parents on screen, and embrace their children in their wholeness– but they also don’t change who they are as people to be that good parent for their kids. Will and the kids put on a surprise play for Agnes in their backgarden, Will teaches Hamnet how to stage-fight with sticks, and Agnes passes down her mother’s knowledge of herbal remedies to her daughters. They spend their days wandering in the fields and running around exploring, like kids should, and they always run to greet Will every time he returns from London, bringing stories and presents home. They have lives full of love. 

It’s not only the story that brought me to tears, but the amount of love and effort that went into every single aspect of production. The cinematography of the film is so stunning. Every single scene would be a beautiful screenshot, and I have so much fun watching edits on TikTok that make me cry. The use of color that director Chloé Zhao uses for Will (blue) and Agnes (red), as well as the deep greens of the forest they spend their time in, is beautiful symbolism. Hamnet wears a child’s version of Will’s clothing, and later, onstage, we see the boy playing Hamlet wearing a similar version. Agnes’ stunning red dress becomes muted and brownish after Hamnet’s death, and it’s clear how she loses herself in her grief. 

The acting was also phenomenal. Paul Mescal (playing Will) and Jessie Buckley (playing Agnes) deliver such devastating performances of their grief after Hamnet’s death, and their alienation from each other. I cried my way through the end of the film, but the final scene (with I shan’t spoil) had he trying to stifle my sobs so I could focus on Agnes’ face, and the complex wave of emotions she was riding out. Jacobi Jupe, the young boy playing Hamnet was also INSANELY talented, trust me that kid is going places. He had me wailing into my friends arm. And the teen who plays Hamlet on stage is Noah Jupe, real life brothers with Jacobi. That genuinely destroyed me when I learned that. These are the details constructed by people who LOVE film, and care deeply about making good art in times where it may seem pointless. It’s not pointless, I promise. 

Remember me?

– Hamnet