The awards season is upon us, and one of the front-runners for major awards is Hamnet, based on a best-selling book by Maggie O’Farrell and directed by Oscar-winning Chloe Zhao, returning to human drama after dabbling with the big-budget Marvel flop, Eternals. It has to be said that this isn’t a film if you are going through the process of grief, as it deals with the subject hard, and while it looks magnificent, has great performances, especially from the lead, it is also slightly manipulative, which, for me, harms the film’s success.

William Shakespeare is working as a Latin tutor but dreams of being a writer. He meets Agnes, a mysterious woman with a strong connection to the earth. The pair fall in love, much to the disagreement of their families, and they start a family of their own. When Will heads to London, leaving Agnes to fend for herself and their three children, the plague hits them hard, causing devastating loss that the pair must face in their own ways.

It has to be said that Chloe Zhao is a very talented director. She manages to make the familiar almost seem unique and brand new. Here, her palette is the forest, as she uses her camera to capture the landscape’s majesty with fresh eyes. Along with the soundscape, you feel part of nature. Yet this is only a small part of the film. This is about human emotions and how we cope after a tragedy, and Zhao knows how to focus on the heart of the human condition. This was one of the things that made her Oscar-winning Nomadland such a success.

Having said that, this is a film of two halves. The first concentrates on building the relationship between Will and Agnes, who is a fictionalised version of Shakespeare’s real wife, Anne Hathaway. This, sadly, is the slowest part of the film. There is so much talk about this film that knowing what tragic event occurs, you are almost waiting for it to happen. This somewhat softens the blow when it actually happens, and it is one of the film’s downfalls.

When that event happens, it feels as if we are being forced into reacting in an emotional state. Even before walking into the cinema, I was stopped by an usher and asked if I had my tissues ready. Sadly, I didn’t react to the scene in that nature, and I am a crier. For me, the film worked better in the final act, when Agnes, feeling left to fend for herself with her feelings while her husband is working on a play in London, heads to the city and experiences the production with both eyes of anger and wonder. It includes a moment when the camera lingers on Agnes’s face that is very reminiscent of the final scene in The Long Good Friday, when Bob Hoskins, without saying a word, goes through every inch of thought and emotion just by watching his face.

Which leads me to the performances, and this is the film’s strong suit. Paul Mescal, who seems to be everywhere at the moment, with The History of Sound coming out in a few weeks’ time, always delivers, and as Will, he takes pathos to another level. He is captivating to watch, and you feel the pain he is suffering without ever taking it to the point of overacting. Already a public favourite, this should propel him to superstardom.

Yet this film belongs to Jessie Buckley. After making an impact in Beast and especially Wild Rose, she has gone from strength to strength and become one of the most reliable actresses around. This is her masterpiece, the role that will cement her place alongside acting royalty. It is full of depth, full of wonder, and you are transfixed by just how good it is. If you were to strip the score and allow her to just act in silence, it would have been even more powerful. It is one of the best performances committed to celluloid. It would be remiss of me not to mention the children in the film, especially Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet, who is particularly great and does look like Prince George. Some of the best child actors around.

Hamnet is a powerful drama, no doubt, that looks stunning, features strong production design and a beautiful score, and is bolstered by those incredible performances. I just wish that Chloe Zhao had more confidence in her skills and her cast to make the drama work without manipulating the audience into reacting a certain way. Still a stunning piece of cinema.

4 out of 5

Director: Chloe Zhao

Starring: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, David Wilmot, Jacobi Jupe, Olivia Lynes, Bodhi Rae Breathnach, Joe Alwyn, Justine Mitchell, Noah Jupe

Written by: Chloe Zhao and (also based on the novel “Hamnet”) Maggie O’Farrell

Running Time: 125 mins

Cert: 12A

Release date: 9th January 2026