Hamnet

What do You see?

No words can fully describe the immense talent of Chloé Zhao.

Jessie Buckley Is an Absolute force of Nature,Her perfomance Amazing and Heartbreaking gut punch.

The screenplay,cinematography, and the music make for an incredible film about grief and acceptance.

The last 20 minutes are faithful to the book and so powerful.

Keep your Heart Open.

This movie is about remembrance, dedication, love.

I came in knowing almost nothing and only fully realized this was about Shakespeare near the very end of the movie. In a sense, I wish I knew more about Shakespeare's history and the story of hamlet. However, I feel coming in with nothing actually added more to the film and its emotion; not fully understanding what was happening till the very end made it so much stronger going into that last march. To be honest I wasn't fully convinced with the first half of the film, but the last part brought it all back making everything make sense again.

The introduction of the theater is crucial to prepare the audience for the scene that's about to unfold. The camera and angles from the beginning of the theater scene builds the suspense: the feeling of who Will has become, and the meaning of this play combined with the tension between them two.

The acting is also incredible with paul and jacobi's performances truly making the movie - raw, authentic, and full of emotion. Particularly Paul's "again" scene. It might be worth an award.

The costume design is well thought out and the blonde hair paint and blue costume really stands out. The attention to detail with the ghost's white clay...

The final scene of the crowd reaching out and Hamnet turning away was the most heart wrenching and beautiful of the film and did bring me to tears.

Hamlet is a very old story coming from the Norse legends of Omlodhi. The original story is almost exactly the same with a few changes the Shakespeare made for his time. It was not based on this. It is based on that story. If you don't believe me, search it. Or better yet read Hamlet's Mill. It outlines the history perfectly. Not this garbage of a movie.

Hamnet is an exceptional movie - its only weakness being that it tries unnecessarily too hard to extract a tear at every turn, drawing on the full armamentarium of tools available to a crafty storyteller like Chloe Zhao. Ultimately, the movie takes you on a journey through life of a typically family. William meets Agnes, Agnes gets pregnant, they get married, they face difficulties in their lives and work, they have twins, they are protective of their children and premonitory about losing a child too. William has to spend significant time in London for work. They lose a child to pestilence. They process grief in their own way.

This movie has all the necessary ingredients to cater to a wide range of audiences and their respective beliefs about reconciling that kind of grief: ghosts, afterlife, mystical forest, abyss, dark holes, underworld (yes, Orpheus' story is woven into the story too), sky burial, perhaps a dream, too. Stillbirth that was not, connection between twins, mysterious connection with nature - a buffet of transcendent beliefs. There are twists too, not unlike those in The Six Sense or The Others. All leading to a catharsis that may have been more profound, if one were not already in tears throughout the whole movie. But, it was therapeutic and liberating, nevertheless. Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal and Jacobi Jupe contribute masterfully to every single emotional exploitation in this well-crafted deconstruction of grief and Hamlet.

My wife and I watched the premiere at TIFF, with the Roy Thomson Hall always being an unmatchable, immersive venue to watch a movie, particularly one with a score like Hamnet's, supporting and amplifying the tension-building moments with Max Richter's intense music. As I have already pointed to Chloe Zhao not missing a single opportunity to draw on whatever values the audience may already have, here is the use of "On the Nature of Daylight" track (amplifying so intensely the preordained loss of a child to rare disease in Arrival). On the one hand, it was incredible to watch Chloe Zhao and Emily Watson's reactions to the movie, as it unfolded, just across the aisle from us. On the other hand, it was impossible to contain the emotional rollercoaster this movie has trapped us in - less than a year ago (on a trip through Denmark, of all places, where Hamlet is set), our three year old son caught severe pneumonia, deteriorated in the middle of the night from what appeared like a bad cold into a near comatose condition. Despite getting him to one of the best pediatric hospitals in the world, over the next week, the infection got worse and we endured for days holding and watching his near-lifeless septicemic body, not knowing whether he will wake up the same and whether he will wake up at all. This was a traumatic experience in a foreign country that left its scars. Watching Hamnet made us relive all of this in a span of two hours - that immeasurable, unimaginable, irreversible loss of a child full of unadulterated joy, dreams, aspirations, potential. I last felt this way when I watched Manchster by the Sea, but that was before I would come to experience my own child. Hamnet is portrayed in the movie to die from what appears as pneumonic plague - rare, but most rapidly progressing - in agony - it is devastating. Yet, we had a happy ending of sorts - our child survived. But it was crashing to watch the family on screen process this grief in their own way. It was beautiful to see them endure. We are drawn to tragedy in a paradoxical manner. Chloe Zhao knows and fully embraces that throughout her work, but also by preparing the audience for the experience (yes - there was a brief breathing exercise and meditation) and providing some closure in her commentary after - we live, we experience loss and grief, most of us find what to continue living for (to be or not to be), and we die, inevitably. I can only speculate, but she appears to have gone for absolute certainty to reach into the very soul of every person in the audience and touch them and unite them with strangers around the room with her masterful storytelling. There is much, much more to be said about this movie than I have. It is a must see and will surely collect many awards for its creators, but, most importantly, will solidify its place in art and history as a masterpiece.

Days ago at a film screening hosted by the Asia Society, I met a veteran Hollywood producer and Oscar voter. She excitedly brought up Chloé Zhao's new film Hamnet, asserting with confidence that it will walk away with two to four major Awards next year.

Almost at the same time, I saw my friend, educator Dr. Baiyan Yang, praising the film on social media: "This not only proves Zhao's artistic mastery and humanistic depth, but also stands among the most emotionally powerful works of our time."

With such "preloaded" expectations, I began to look into the details. Indeed, the film is scheduled for a limited U. S. release on November 27, while its Telluride Film Festival premiere has already set critics abuzz: a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, a stellar 95 on Metacritic. The Playlist even declared it "another masterpiece from Zhao."

Adapted from Maggie O'Farrell's acclaimed novel, Hamnet diverges from works that traditionally focus on Shakespeare's career, choosing instead to center on his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley) and their young son who died prematurely. It portrays a family torn apart by plague yet striving for renewal. Zhao's documentary-like aesthetic and use of natural light make 16th-century rural England almost tangible-you can feel the dew on Agnes's fingertips and hear the sound of her breaking heart. The climax is especially moving: when she watches "Hamlet" performed at The Globe, the name of her lost child overlaps with the title character, and art fuses with life in a moment of profound poignancy.

Reports from the premiere noted many audience members were in tears. Critics called it "the most devastating film in years," emphasizing that it not only depicts a family tragedy but also reframes the emotional roots of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Performances by Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal have been hailed as career-defining turns.

What intrigued me further was Zhao's own comment earlier this year. Reflecting on her Marvel experience with Eternals, she said it gave her insights into world-building, but Hamnet brought her back to the intimacy of contained storytelling: "When resources are limited, everything becomes more meaningful." That line has stayed with me.

From the heights of Nomadland, through the divisive reception of Eternals, and now to the triumphant acclaim of Hamnet, Zhao's work has always carried her signature: an empathy for outsiders, a reverence for nature and humanity, and a gift for transforming individual grief into universal emotion. In an era saturated with superhero blockbusters, a film with this kind of literary depth and emotional resonance feels like a breath of fresh air.

Personally, I am deeply looking forward to its official release in November. Hamnet is poised not only to be a heavyweight contender in awards season, but also to show us a director returning to her roots with greater maturity after navigating both commercial spectacle and intimate art. Perhaps this is what cinema ultimately exists for-to find rebirth in the fragile balance between love and loss.