Movie Review: Hamnet

The new movie "Hamnet" is a fictional account of William Shakespeare's son, Hamnet, who died at age 11, and of Shakespeare's relationship with his wife, Agnes, played by Jessie Buckley, and their three children, as the couple also had two daughters.

This story is a stark reminder of what life was like during the 1500s and 1600s, when there was very limited medical knowledge, and the majority of people lived in squalor and abject poverty - including Shakespeare and his entire family. Shakespeare's wife gave birth without the help of any doctors, with her first birth alone in the woods. Her second birth was with a few relatives while giving birth to twins, a girl, Judith, played by Effie Linnen, and a boy, Hamnet, played by James Lintern.

The main part of this story was that William Shakespeare's ambition to be a playwright was greater than his desire to be with his family, so Shakespeare, played by Paul Mescal, was constantly leaving for London to run his acting company. These absences became more depressing as this story continued, causing problems with his wife and especially his son, over time making Shakespeare's constant leaving seem very cruel. Why get married and have children when you only care about writing and producing plays somewhere else? Why could Shakespeare's family not travel with him to London? This idea was never considered in this story.

Shakespeare's absences are speculation from the screenwriter and director Chloé Zhao, as there is no proof that Shakespeare abandoned his family for this writing and directing career in London. This is a fictional story that is well acted with powerful and emotional scenes that will very likely give actress Jessie Buckley an Oscar nomination, and, in my opinion, she will win for best actress this year.

This movie is very slow at times, and a little too long, it can be very depressing for a number of reasons, but the main reason to see this film is for the acting of Paul Mescal and mostly for Jessie Buckley. I agree with the high 86% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes and give a solid recommendation for this film.