Hamnet: Movie Review

Cast: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson
Director: Chloe Zhao

Director Chloe Zhao's take on Maggie O'Farrell's acclaimed novel about the birth of Hamlet the play is an intriguing story, albeit one that occasionally feels a little too aloof to feel fully immersed in.

But it's nothing without its outstanding performance by Jessie Buckley, who stars as Agnes Hathaway, a woman who tries to resist the allure of the mysterious William Shakespeare, the new Latin tutor in town. (Played by Paul Mescal, this Shakespeare is more a supporting role than anything more succinct or central to proceedings.)

However, unable to stay away from the allure, the pair begins a passionate relationship which results in the birth of children, but which sees Shakespeare heading to London from Stratford to take up his writing career - despite the protestations of Agnes.

As Agnes juggles a life without her husband and with young children, she faces tragedy when their youngest daughter becomes stricken with the plague raging through Stratford-Upon-Avon. 

Cloaked in oppressive gloom, Hamlet keeps its audience aloof in parts, crafting a slow-burning tale which may get under your skin, depending on how hard-hearted you are.

Mescal is fine as Shakespeare, but given the distance in the narrative, he's barely there throughout. It leaves the film to Buckley, who more than compensates, delivering a towering performance that commands every second she's on screen.

Zhao does much to build an atmosphere but rarely ventures out if the confines of Hathaway's entrapment, both physically and mentally.

Curiously, much of Hamnet feels beholden to its actors,with only one scene truly capturing something close to organic emotion, the rest feeling like it's a play with its actors, rather than fully immersing audiences in their roles.

The play may be the thing for Shakespeare as he's oft remarked, but without Jessie Buckley's commanding screen presence, Hammett never quite reaches the highs it aspires to.