Hamnet Early Positive Film Reviews Roll In
- Melchior Antoine
- Aug 31
- 3 min read
Hamnet, the film directed by Chloé Zhao, and based on the novel of the same name by Maggie O’Farrell, has seen a number of early positive reviews.The movie is set to have a staged rollout, premiering first at the Toronto International Film Festival this fall (2025) before playing in US cinemas in November, which will be followed by a wider rollout in December. However, critics and film fans were able to view the film at the ongoing Telluride Film Festival in Colorado.
Reviews have been generally positive, emphasizing on the strong performance of Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, who play Shakespeare and his wife Agnes, respectively. In particular, the reviews emphasize their strong depiction of raw emotion and grief associated with the loss of Hamnet, the couple’s son who died at the early age of eleven.
What is the film about?
The screenplay is co-written by O'Farrell and Zhao and centers on the wife of Shakespeare and how she comes to terms with the loss of her son. Both the novel and the film can be referred to as historical fiction. This means that although based loosely on the life of Shakespeare, which is rather sparse to begin with in terms of biographical details, it relies on the imagination of the writer to fill out the missing information.
As mentioned earlier, Agnes, the wife of the bard, is the heart of the tale. She is portrayed as a mysterious witch-like figure with a peculiar relationship with the nearby forest. The relationship between her and Shakespeare has hints of Romeo and Juliet, with both their families disapproving of it. However, when Agnes is impregnated “strategically” by the Latin tutor, the families have no choice but to marry them.
While the novel features the heady and beautiful romance between the bookish Latin tutor with dreams of becoming a famous writer and the mysterious and witchy forest girl at its beginning, the emotional core of the novel revolves around Agnes and her husband coming to terms with the loss of their son, Hamnet. If the early reviews are anything to go by, the film similarly focuses on this aspect of parents dealing with the grief and despair of losing a child.
This is not the first adaptation of the 2021 novel. Lolita Chakrabarti put on a stage performance, with Madeleine Mantock playing Agnes and Tom Varey playing Shakespeare. The novel has enjoyed immense popularity since its publication.
What are the critics saying about Hamnet?
Critics and film fans who watched the movie at the Telluride Film Festival at Telluride, Colorado. The consensus seems to be that the film stood out due the powerful performance depicting grief and loss by the main actors, Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.
Peter Debruge, writing for Variety, described Jessie Buckley’s performance as devastating. According to him, “As conceived by ‘Nomadland’ director Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet” is so emotionally raw as to be almost excruciating at times.” David Ehrlich, writing for IndieWire, also describes the movie in similar terms, describing it as ripping “the heart right out of your body.” Joey Magidson says frankly that “Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal Will Bring You to Tears in Chloé Zhao’s ‘Hamnet’.”
Most of the reviews appeared to be positive. However, a few of them appeared to leave just a slight hint of misgiving about how the movie may come across to an audience because of the emotional punch that it packed. For example, Peter Debruge asks “If ‘Hamnet’ feels too much at times, ask yourself why that is.” In any event, a wider audience will get to see and judge for themselves when the film is released in November.
Cite this EminentEdit article |
Antoine, M. (2025, August 31). Hamnet Early Positive Film Reviews Roll In. EminentEdit. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/hamnet-early-positive-film-reviews |
