This article contains spoilers for Hamnet (2025). This article is on the film Hamnet, a movie adapted from the book Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell.
Despite the gentle attempts of the movie theater house lights to coax us back to reality, stillness engulfed the auditorium as we stared stupefied at the credits rolling on the screen. The return of the lights revealed crumpled tissues clutched in white-knuckled hands, glistening tear-streaked cheeks, and the intertwined fingers of viewers with their loved ones. The occasional sniffle did nothing to break the trance. No one stirred for several minutes after the film had ended; no one moved to leave. The need to give voice to our sentiments was overwhelming, yet mouths open and closed and the silence remained untouched. Hamnet held us all in a breathtaking embrace of shared emotion.
Hamnet is a reimagining of the life of William Shakespeare’s (Paul Mescal) family, based loosely on scarce documented facts of his wife–strong willed, wild Agnes (Jessie Buckley), and their three children. Directed by Chloé Zhao (Golden Globes winner), the retelling centers around the tragic death of their child Hamnet, and how the suffocating grief that enveloped their family in the aftermath inspired Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Following the esteemed novel Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, with its bestseller status and stately lineup of awards such as Winner of the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction and National Books Critics Circle Award for Fiction, for a film to do it justice is no small feat. However, the team behind Hamnet utilizes stunning imagery, profound symbolism, and an ultimate return to Shakespeare’s Hamlet that expands on the original finale of Hamnet–capturing the evocative, atmospheric beauty of Maggie O’Farrell’s prose.
O’Farrell’s novel begins with Hamnet’s perspective in England, 1596, and alternates with Agnes’s perspectives that take the reader into the early 1580s, until her and Hamnet’s timelines meet around halfway through the book. Instead of this approach, the film tells the plot chronologically, first leading us through Agnes and Will’s falling in love, their idyllic family life, and then the plague and the shadows that ruled their household afterwards.
This is an astute choice that allows the screen adaptation to run faster, as well as creating pockets of space for powerful literary devices such as symbolism and visual metaphors–these would have otherwise struggled to hold weight in a motion picture that constantly shifts between storylines.
The film opens overlooking nature, zooming in on foliage until the greenery gradually reveals Agnes at the heart of the forest. She’s dressed in vibrant red and seemingly at home in the wild as she calls her self-trained kestrel. With our protagonist introduced in a setting established just a few seconds prior through detailed and intimate camera angles, viewers are able to understand Agnes’s character in relation to her surroundings. This allows for the audience to comprehend her role in the universe in a grounded way, rather than having the camera trail after her. This technique is brilliantly clear, concise, and profound, reinforcing the idea of Agnes’s independence and self-awareness at the beginning of her journey.
What further opens up the characters to the audience is the music. The soundtrack of Hamnet by Max Richter (including Richter’s preexisting piece “On The Nature of Daylight”) stands on its own as a striking album. It incorporates a diverse range of instruments to create insightful and tear-jerking music, nevermind the gorgeous track titles. Instruments from different eras are seamlessly blended (Focus Features interview)–the Elizabethan hurdy-gurdy and nyckelharpa, female choir, orchestra, electronic beats, percussion, and more are used. These enhance each other in a unique method.
“On the Nature of Daylight” is used for the finale where Agnes watches Will’s production of Hamlet. It begins with low, soulful tones of cello, soon layering with the introspective and bittersweet alto voice of the viola, and about a third of the way through the song the violins are brought in, its higher notes raw and introducing the emotional climax: yearning, yes, but also a reawakening achieved through vibrato-laden notes creating texture with the lower register. This progression represents the healing journey Agnes and Will experience in this scene; although Will is backstage and Agnes is in the audience, both are first consumed in their grief, mournful along with the cellos and enshrouded in a gray haze. But as they find the spirit of Hamnet in this recreation, they start to thaw and stir awake with the violas, evident in the awe Jessie Buckley portrays with a slightly open mouth and wide eyes, on the verge of an amazed huff of breath. Maybe even a laugh. Finally, Agnes’s action of reaching to the stage to hold the hand of the Hamlet actor while he dies in the play, and the movement of the entire audience to do the same reflects the coming-back-to-life melody the violin conveys.
In conjunction with the film, the musical accompaniments construct a new dimension, an inner perspective that allows the audience to resonate deeply with the characters. In a movie where dialogue does not excessively intrude on every moment of quiet, subtle shifts in tone from the soundtrack reiterates a core theme of the movie: in the process of grief and healing, often there are no words. With the music, the audience is offered a certain sensitivity to unspoken words–fostering an emotional connection that bridges and joins the viewers and the Shakespeare family.
Even in the darkest depths of sorrow, when the candles flicker unsteadily and everything is in ashen, colorless shades, nuances in the background music give shape to the complexities of the human condition. Whether those nuances suggest misplaced blame in a once joyful home, stifled screams in a silent family, or even the mere possibility of light finding its way through the window, we would never know that it was there unless we listen.
Layered with the exceptional soundtrack are profound visuals. Hamnet’s costume designer, Malgosia Turzanska, spun symbolism into the threads of the Elizabethan costumes. In an interview with Focus Features, she described how she, Chloé Zhao, and the cast created visions for the characters’ aesthetic. In regards to Agnes, Turzanska said, they darkened the fierce red shades of her outfit by rubbing dirt into the sleeves. And the most astounding part of her signature dress? The torso made out of bark cloth. “… literally a tree,” Turzanka explained. “Yes, it is dyed, but it is truly unprocessed, just a piece of when you strip the bark off.” An artistic choice this bold speaks to the Hamnet team’s commitment to authenticity. Despite how subtle a detail this may seem, a myriad of these intricate decisions all contribute to the immersive experience audiences receive.
To reflect Will’s abusive upbringing, tiny slashes were incorporated into the back of his jacket, “trying to represent those screams that never happened.” As the story progresses, the gashes in his clothes get more pronounced; his clothes maintain their silhouette but the coloring dulls. Similarly, Agnes’ vigorous red hues increasingly brown throughout the movie, “like a dried sad scab.” Turzanska said. With nuances in texture and tint of fabrics, viewers are able to sense the change of mood as the tone shifts across the narrative. The rapt attention to detail demonstrated by the team captures the essence of character development–those watching are clued into the true sentiments of each character, even if those characters attempt to bury or mask them. This allows the film to be deeply dimensional, illustrating both how grief can raise walls around one’s heart as well as the slippery slope to desolation that entails.
The center of the movie is Hamnet’s heartbreaking sacrifice. Jacobi Jupe portrays the young Shakespeare son with extraordinary layers, forming a character that represents the way love can forge unimaginable strength. Resolutely devoted to a vow of bravery, Hamnet loves with the whole of his heart–the kind of love that can only be truly witnessed through incredible actions.
Unable to bear seeing his beloved twin sister Judith sick, Hamnet’s sacrifice to save her is unforgettable, especially as he murmurs his vow all the while. He begins to cry when his soul ends up in an area isolated from the outside world by a sheer black veil. Jupe, Hamnet’s actor, starkly makes fear and loneliness palpable, and it’s devastating. Especially when he gathers his resolve, tear tracks still lingering on his cheeks, with the phrase of bravery held steadfastly close to his heart. The hauntingly beautiful words, born of unconditional and unbreakable love, survives death and endures above all else.
The finale revolves around William Shakespeare’s production of Hamlet. Going further than the Hamnet novel does into the ending of the original play, viewers find Hamnet’s spirit in Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, on stage with his father as the deceased king. The audience is offered glimpses of the preparation ahead of this performance, and being able to watch the renowned Shakespearean characters played by ones we’ve grown to know throughout the movie encourages viewers to consider every word, movement, and stroke of paint on the set and costumes. Having the added depth of the Shakespeare family’s story emphasizes fresh aspects of the actions onstage, catching facets of classic jewels in a new light. These features lead the narrative full circle, simultaneously preserving the magic of Hamlet and giving it a new glimmer.
Where Hamnet truly shines is in its portrayal of grief. It embraces the darkness rather than shying away from it. Rather than trying to forget, the characters, no matter how torturous it is, learn to accept the sorrow and live with it in a different form. Will channels his grief into his work, taking on the role of the dead king in order to resurrect the memory of Hamnet, an echo of what Hamnet did for Judith. Expressing upsetting emotions in a creative way sets a powerful example of a coping and healing strategy.
The recurring theme of love’s endurance in spite of suffering and death is shown when Hamnet’s phrase of bravery lasts into the afterlife, and when Agnes sees the ghost of Hamnet onstage during the Hamlet performance. Her act of patting her hand over her heart signifies to her son that she will always be with him, and alleviates his fear. The smile the two characters share symbolizes the final stage of grief: acceptance. In this way, Hamnet brings her love into the afterlife with him and death cannot break it.
Hamnet is a raw and powerful adaptation of the bestselling book–yet, with a few key alterations, the film stands on its own as a masterpiece on grief and indestructible familial bonds. The depth and authenticity of the techniques used and honest expression of intricate human emotions translates smoothly to audiences, prompting us all to reflect on our everyday lives–to let love foster inner strength and to be present in every moment with our loved ones during the time we have with them.
