Hamnet

Hamnet sounds like something you might take pig fishing but it's actually a fine new film from Chloé Zhao. It looks at how a seismic event in the life of William Shakespeare and, crucially, his wife Agnes, may have contributed to the creation of one of the Bard's most famous plays. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Maggie O'Farrell, and begins with the introduction of Agnes (A.K.A. Anne) Hathaway, played by Jessie Buckley. She's a strong-willed, earthy falconer and more than a match for besotted Will (Paul Mescal), who spies her returning from the woods one day.

Will is employed to tutor Agnes's younger brothers and initially takes her for a servant girl, such is her lack of guile and conceit. They eventually get together and are forced into a shotgun wedding, thanks to the beast with two backs. Agnes is a great support for her husband (who, incidentally, is rarely referred to in the film as Shakespeare) and makes a lot of sacrifices to enable him to continue writing. Whatever the veracity of the relations between the characters in the film, it never hurts to try new angles, and the positioning of Agnes as the driving force behind Shakespeare's work, and definitely, his family, is a welcome addition to the stable of Bard tales.

Now, hands up, I was actually expecting a historical romance, so I wasn't prepared for this gut-punch about family grief. I won't go into it any more here but a quick web search will fill you in, if you fancy a spoiler. The reactions to the 'event' are visceral and pretty hard to watch, but it's a sombre speech from the always excellent Emily Watson as Will's mother, Mary, that resonates the most. Fantastic writing, supremely delivered.

This is Buckley's film, though. She is spell-binding and gets some incredibly powerful scenes. Mescal is also great in a less focussed role, it's interesting that he's the famous author but is clearly NOT the lead. Noah Jupe has a small, but important part near the end, and the actors who play the kids (Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Olivia Lynes and Jacobi Jupe) are just the right side of affecting.

Chloé Zhao, one-woman production company, directs, adapts and co-edits, in much the same way she handled her Oscar-winning film from a few years back, Nomadland. There wasn't the same amount of competition in 2021, but if that film could win three major Academy awards, then Hamnet should probably scoop the pool. But that's a story for another time.

Hamnet opens around Australia on Jan 15.

See also:

I'm going to bang the drum again for Paul Mescal's film Aftersun (2022), directed by Charlotte Wells. It's amazing. And, not a film but Jessie Buckley and Emily Watson are terrific in the TV mini-series, Chernobyl (2019), created by Craig Mazin.

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