"Composed for the 2004 album The Blue Notebooks, Max Richter's stirring piece for a small strings ensemble has made its way into the saddest scenes in several films and television shows in the 20-odd years since its release. Its first cinematic appearance was in Stranger Than Fiction, but it has since been used again and again to soundtrack a specific type of thudding tragedy onscreen - often, the loss of a spouse ( Shutter Island, The Last of Us) or a child ( Arrival)."
"Hamnet is not a retelling of Hamlet, but rather an exploration of the domestic life of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes (Jessie Buckley), the latter of whom is possessed by a kind of otherworldly romanticism. She is a witch, or maybe just a little strange, but Will loves her regardless. They have three children, but Agnes knows - in her heart, at least - that only two will live."
Hamnet follows William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes, whose otherworldly romanticism marks her as unusual but beloved by Will. The couple have three children, yet Agnes senses that only two will survive. When their son Hamnet dies, the marriage fractures: William departs for London to work while Agnes struggles to raise their surviving daughters. A spontaneous trip to the Globe introduces Agnes to Hamlet, a play whose characters mirror her own life and unsettle her. The film pairs that recognition with Max Richter's "On the Nature of Daylight," creating a wordless, music-driven catharsis tied to birth and death.
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