Chloé Zhao’s film Hamnet is not just a movie, but an immersive emotional journey.
Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s 2021 novel Hamnet, a historical fiction about William Shakespeare’s family life. The movie explores the psychological trials that Shakespeare may have gone through during the process of developing his famous play, Hamlet, presumably named for his real son, Hamnet, who passed away at age eleven. It stars Paul Mescal, who plays Shakespeare, and Jessie Buckley, who plays Shakespeare’s wife Agnes, and was directed by Chinese filmmaker Chloé Zhao.
The movie used the power of nature and family dynamics to show the similarities between Hamnet’s life and the play Hamlet. With minimal music and powerful acting, a compendium of raw and vulnerable scenes make up the majority of the film. Every actor in the movie gave a stunning performance of grief, with outward anguish portrayed through intense bouts of tears and visceral monologues. The acting by the children in the film was incredible, as they represented heartache and suffering in a jarringly realistic manner. The language evokes older English, but is still understandable for viewers.
On December 12, 2025, English teacher Ms. Kaitlin Brandt took both sections of the AP Literature: Diamonds class to the West Newton Cinema to see the movie. Since the AP Diamonds class has just completed in-depth literary analyses of Hamlet, we connected with the movie from a viewpoint of deep knowledge about the themes and symbols that appear throughout. Many of these literary themes are reflected in the movie, such as the power of nature as a central setting, and coping with the death of a loved one. Knowledge of the original novel, Hamnet, was not a requirement for enjoying the movie. On the other hand, knowledge of the play Hamlet certainly added to the viewing experience, and helped us understand the scenes focused on the creative process of Shakespeare. Many of our peers were brought to tears during the film.
You don’t have to be an avid reader of Shakespeare to enjoy Hamnet, although it certainly helps. As long as you enjoy moving, poetic, and symbolic works, then we recommend you to watch Hamnet. As of now, it is still showing in theaters, and is expected to begin streaming in early 2026.