""Tell me a story," the earthy young woman asks the shy Latin tutor early in Chloé Zhao's Hamnet. What story, he asks? "Something that moves you." And volcanic is the best way to describe Jessie Buckley's startling performance in Hamnet, Zhao's unabashedly emotional adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's acclaimed novel. Also starring a magnetic Paul Mescal as Will, it's a story that imagines the early life of the young couple from Stratford."
"The mastery of these words, and their delivery, contrast starkly with Agnes' most impactful scenes, which often occur with few or no words at all. We've already alluded to the walloping conclusion, where love, grief and art all converge in the film's most powerful moment. To watch Buckley here is to appreciate that even in a story about Shakespeare, it can be the gaps between words that resonate profoundly."
Hamnet follows Agnes and Will in a heady love story that is tested by the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet. Jessie Buckley delivers a volcanic, emotionally raw performance while Paul Mescal is magnetic as Will. The film moves chronologically, imagining the couple's early life in Stratford and altering the novel's shifting timeline. The film contrasts the mastery of spoken words with powerful silent moments, especially in Agnes' scenes. Love, grief and art converge in a climactic sequence where silence and expression both carry profound weight. The film is due for release Nov. 26, 2025.
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