Step into a story of love and loss 

Chloé Zhao brings Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel to the screen with a quiet, soulful touch, crafting a period drama that feels both intimate and vast. Hamnet imagines the inner world of William Shakespeare’s family - not the mythic playwright, but the husband and father whose private heartbreak shaped one of the greatest works ever written.The story follows the early life of Will (Paul Mescal), a young Latin tutor, and Agnes Hathaway (Jessie Buckley), whose free-spirited nature unsettles the people of Stratford-upon-Avon as much as it captivates him. Their marriage and family life unfold in the countryside until the sudden death of their son, Hamnet, tears their world apart.

Zhao lingers in the spaces between grief and resilience as Will retreats into the growing theatre world of London, while Agnes remains rooted in the home Hamnet once filled with life. Their paths diverge and circle back again, eventually resulting in the creation of Hamlet -  a work reimagined here as an act of mourning, a bridge between the living and the lost. 

Mescal delivers one of his most openly expressive performances to date, but Jessie Buckley is the film’s heartbeat. Her portrayal of Agnes is raw and fiercely moving, her performance has already sparked awards-season talk, with many tipping her for an Oscar nomination.

Zhao’s trademark style is woven through every frame. Though the film takes a measured pace, its closing moments arrive with an emotional force that’s difficult to shake. What begins as a domestic tragedy unfolds into something broader,  a meditation on how art preserves the people we can no longer hold.

Did you know?

During this period, the names Hamnet and Hamlet were used interchangeably - a detail the film weaves into its emotional arc.

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