Over winter break, I spent an entire day engaging in a whirlwind of a double feature: watching Avatar Fire&Ash, and Hamnet.
Possibly the most contrasting pair of movies one could see, but I have no regrets. I had been wanting to see Hamnet for a long time, as I kept hearing wonderful reviews of the movie. So when my mom suggested we go see it, I couldn’t possibly pass up the opportunity. To put it lightly, I was blown away the entire 2 hours and 5 minutes.
The Beginning
I am not exaggerating when I say that the establishing scenes of Hamnet were some of the strongest I’ve seen in the beginning of a film. The story follows the life of Agnes (Jessie Buckley), who eventually weds William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal). The film begins with Mescal’s character being captivated by Buckley’s “Agnes”. He finds her unique lifestyle intriguing, and decides to approach her one afternoon. I find this opening so captivating because it expresses Will’s interest in Agnes from the jump. There is not much build up to their relationship, which I enjoy in this sense. It helps the beginning of what could be a slow exposition flow smoothly until the critical moments of the film unfold.
They begin to talk, with Agnes remaining hesitant of William’s intentions. She then asks him to tell her a story, and what comes next was such a shocking, yet captivating start to a powerful love story. He begins to recite the story of Orpheus and Eurydice from the original Greek myth, and I was in awe from then on. I believe Shakespeare choosing to tell this story to Agnes not only shows the depth of his character, but it foreshadows the start of a blossoming, yet heartbreaking relationship.
Agnes: Portrayed by Jessie Buckley
The film’s title mirrors the name Agnes and Will give to one of their children, Hamnet. While his name represents the film as a whole, the story really centers around Agnes’s life raising her children during pressing times of disease and high infant mortality. She has her first child, a daughter who she names Susanna. Shortly after, she delivers her second child only to find out that she was actually having twins. She delivers a healthy baby boy first, Hamnet, but then experiences a moment of dread as her second daughter is born but does not cry. They fear that she is stillborn, but Agnes does not give up on bringing her to life. She holds her in her arms, and promises that she will let nothing happen to her, and shortly after, Judith starts to cry. This moment is unfortunately one of the last moments of Agnes’s joy in the film.
Years later, disease hits the Shakespeare home. Judith contracts the plague, and Agnes fears the worst. She constructs several herb remedies, cares for Judith morning and night, and promises not to let death take her. At this point in the film, it would seem to the audience that they need to prepare for the death of Judith. She is bedridden, so weak that one could never imagine a child in this time period regaining her health. But when her twin brother, Hamnet, lies next to her one night, he tells her to switch places with him. He refers to an individual as “he” which one could believe is the reaper of death. He tells Judith that if they switch, “he” will be confused, and would take him instead. He tells her that it is his time to be brave, and he wants to be brave for her. So they switch places. And sure enough, the next morning, Judith is much healthier, but at the expense of Hamnet. It appears to be a miracle how Judith healed after contracting the plague. But throughout the film, there is a spiritual undertone to the character’s choices, including pleas from both Hamnet and Agnes to a supposed spirit of death, which explains why Judith seemed to heal so quickly. Because of their close proximity all night, Hamnet contracts the plague. Agnes wakes up next to her children and anxiously tries to wake her son, panicking when she realizes the state he is in. She quickly jumps into action, making remedies and calling for help to tend to Hamnet. She tries everything, but ultimately, Hamnet dies a painful death. I would warn audience members that this is the most intense scene of the film, and I would not recommend it for people who don’t think they can watch a scene of this magnitude. Hamnet dies moments after Agnes pleads for him to stay, and she lets out a bloodcurdling scream that brings tears to my eyes. Buckley’s portrayal of a mother who just lost a child was so realistic that it was hard to watch, but I believe it was captivating at the same time. A large part of her devastation from Hamnet’s death is not the death itself, but rather because she, up until this point, believed that her daughter Judith would be the one to die. She had been focusing all of her energy on Judith, so when Hamnet died, she felt remorseful that she had not focused as much on his well being. This portion of acting by Buckley was so realistic and devastating, that I believe these couple sequences are what secured her several wins during award season so far. While the Oscars have not aired yet, I would be willing to wager that Jessie Buckley’s name will be in the envelope for Best Actress.
Agnes and Will’s Relationship
After the loss of their son, Agnes and William Shakespeare’s relationship underwent a massive strain. For most of the film, Will is away for work in London, leaving Agnes to tend to the children by herself. Will did not make it in time to see Hamnet before his death, leaving Agnes to experience that initial grief by herself. Soon after their son’s death, Agnes can’t bear to look at Will, understandably so, as they were both experiencing an immense loss. One of the most impactful scenes of the film, in my opinion, comes soon after Hamnet’s death. William has returned from London, and he and Agnes are talking in their bedroom. He recites his feelings of remorse to her, and starts throwing himself into his work, but every time he tries to explain his feelings to her, all she states is “You weren’t there”, referencing his absence when their son was dying. Will feels tremendous guilt for being absent, but Agnes just continues to repeat “But you weren’t there”. This is such a simple, yet powerful moment between the two, because Will knows that Agnes is right; he was not there to comfort their son in his last moments, and put his work before his family. The performance between Mescal and Buckley deeply portrays the effects of child loss on a marriage, and it overall adds to the immense melancholy feeling of the entire film.
Hamnet: Portrayed by Jacobi Jupe
Jacobi Jupe, who is just 12 years old, gave one of the most outstanding performances by a child actor I have ever seen. Jupe, who portrayed Hamnet, embodied the role of a son who both wants to be brave, but also to experience the joy of being a child. His emotional depth with Judith when he promised to be brave for her was so moving that I was surprised someone that just began his acting career could pull off a moment like that so well. He expressed bravery for his sister, but also delivered the sense of obvious fear during his death scene. It was truly captivating and devastating to watch his character die in Agnes’s arms, and I know this amazing performance by Jupe is one of the many more to come by the outstanding actor.
The Ending
The final scene of the film lasts about 15 minutes. Agnes, still at odds with her husband, decides to attend the play he had been working on furiously for months. She is confused at first, as she sees the name “Hamlet” on the play’s program. She is angry that people are speaking the name of her son, especially as she believes they are stating it wrong. But she quickly begins to see that her husband, William Shakespeare, wrote this play not as an exact copy of their son’s life, but a tribute to who he was, inspiring his use of “Hamlet” instead of “Hamnet”. Hamlet, (played by Noah Jupe) delivers a captivating performance in the play. Agnes works her way to the front of the stage to be closer to him, as she slowly starts to see how much he resembles the personality and feeling of her son. During Hamlet’s death scene, he delivers a powerful monologue to the audience, slightly reaching out to the people in the crowd. What comes next is what I believe to be the most powerful scene in the film. In a moment of grief and healing, Agnes reaches her hand out to Hamlet, who is at first surprised, but then decides to take her hand. Soon after, every member of the audience begins to reach their hand out towards him, symbolizing the film’s impactful message that everyone shares in the feeling of grief. The coming together of this scene was so compelling that it moved me to tears once again.
As someone who has lost several family members, seeing every single person in Shakespeare’s theater reach out their hand in unison made me feel connected to every one on screen . Along with the tremendous acting, the director Chloe Zhao chose to have the song “On the Nature of Daylight” play throughout the ending sequence. I loved the use of this song because it expresses the feeling of heartbreak and overwhelming grief, which radiated throughout every individual that was watching the play in the film. Everyone realizing that they all shared the feeling of losing a loved one formed a bond between hundreds of complete strangers simply watching a play, and the score of this scene only amplified this mood further towards audiences in the theater, including myself. When the screen went dark and the end credits started rolling, I found myself in a state of complete silence for the next few moments. I felt like I was in Shakespeare’s theater myself, watching the masterpiece of the play “Hamlet” unfold. This movie was definitely a melancholic watch, but also one that will leave a lasting impact, so I would heavily recommend it for others. I believe the depth and composition of the film is what made Hamnet immensely impactful, and I think it would be beneficial for everyone to see at some point in their lives.