Hamnet

Directed by Chloé Zhao. Starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.

(watched in January)

William Shakespeare (Mescal) must work as a tutor to pay off his father’s debts. Whilst teaching the children he is distracted by a woman flying a hawk. The woman is Agnes Hathaway (Buckley) and William becomes enamoured by her. He courts her and she reciprocates but they doubt they will be allowed to marry. They force their families’ hands by consummating their relationship and Agnes becomes pregnant. They marry and she gives birth to a daughter, Susanna.

William is frustrated by his writing and Agnes persuades her brother Bartholomew to send William to London so he can pursue a theatrical career. Meanwhile she is pregnant again and gives birth to a son, Hamnet. This chimes with a prediction she made that there would be two children at her deathbed. However, it becomes apparent that she was actually carrying twins, and a daughter, Judith, is born. Initially it appears Judith was stillborn but then she shows signs of life.

The family are happy, but the plague is abroad in the land and tragedy isn’t far away. When it comes Agnes and William will deal with their grief in very different ways.     

Ok so a brief spoiler alert. I’d be surprised if anyone watched this film without a clue what it was about but just in case you don’t know the story of Hamnet or in fact Hamlet, feel free to stop reading now…

And so we come to the film version of Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel (and O’Farrell co-wrote the screenplay with Zhao).

Ostensibly a tale about the romance between William Shakespeare and Agnes Hathaway, beyond this it’s tale about grief, how it affects us and how different people will respond in different ways.

There’s a dreamlike quality to the film at times, and yet it also manages to feel grounded. It’s an earthy film; there’s dirt under characters’ fingernails and the world feels lived in. Mortality and melancholy lie over the film, even before tragedy comes, there’s a lot of foreshadowing, the first tale Will tells Agnes is the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice, and death has touched Agnes long before we meet her, with the death of her mother.

It would be wrong to suggest the film veers into supernatural territory, but it dances at the periphery, magic and nature form parts of Agnes’ world, and at times one might almost mistake this for folk horror.

Mescal is very good as Shakespeare, though in many ways he has the more thankless task because the film isn’t really about him, in fact we’re two thirds of the way in before his full name is even uttered.

No, the heart of this film is Agnes, and if Buckley doesn’t get an Oscar I’m going to be very put out. Regular readers of this blog will know I have long been a fan of Jessie Buckley. I’ve never seen her give a bad performance, but she takes her art to another level here. She convinces as Agnes, in her love for her children and for Will, and in her grief when Hamnet dies. This is a woman whose life has been torn apart, and Buckley show every ounce of pain Agnes is feeling. But also every bit of joy, and as sad as the film becomes, there is a joyful element to it, even if it is the delight of remembering that what we have lost once brought happiness.

Does the film manipulate our emotions, well yes but don’t all films want to manipulate us to feel something? That Hamnet manages this is testament to Zhao’s skill as much as the performances and the music.

It is a slow burn, at times perhaps a trifle too slow, and I felt worried because even when Hamnet dies (and kudos to Jacobi Jupe for a performance that belies his years) I didn’t feel the punch to the gut I was expecting, but I shouldn’t have been concerned, the finale which takes place at the Globe and features a performance of Hamlet (featuring Jacobi Jupe’s older brother Noah as Hamlet) tore my heart out.

A film about love, creativity and grief, this is very good.