Hamnet

Chloe Zhao’s HAMNET 🌲 (2025)

The Academy Award-winning director Chloe Zhao is back with her fifth feature film in an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel HAMNET, and it just so happens to be her best work yet.

HAMNET stars Academy Award-nominated actors Paul Mescal (Gladiator II, Normal People) and Jessie Buckley (Chernobyl, Fargo), but it also introduces the world to twelve-year-old Jacobi Jupe, who gives one of the most moving performances of the year.

This is an extraordinary work of historical fiction that vividly brings Shakespeare’s family to life in ways never before imagined.

HAMNET starts off as a gentle slice-of-life tale about a family living in the countryside, led by Agnes Hathaway and her husband, William Shakespeare, who is trying to make the most of his skill for writing while they raise their three children.

At first I was taken aback by how carefree the pacing for the beginning of this story was. It was as if this slice of life was just that, and the story was nothing more than the tender warmth and affection of this tight-knit family, which in its own way was heartwarming but lacked the gravity of what I heard coming into my watch, where it was being praised beyond belief.

That pacing was done with purpose and sets you up for a devastating turn of events that left my entire theatre heartbroken and defeated. The last movie to move me to the point of tears was Studio Ghibli’s Grave of the Fireflies (1988) and in a way the similar themes and impact of witnessing the passing of someone who has their whole life ahead of them—rings true in both stories.

Some people may feel like this story is baiting you into a specific emotion, but if you’ve been in a situation where things change almost instantly, then you’ll know how true to life this story actually feels. And in all honesty, if you don’t get it, that’s probably for the best.

When people pass away at a young age, there’s something deeply unnatural about it that’s hard to cope with and even harder to come to terms with. I’ve known a few people that have passed away at very young ages over the last few years, and it really messes with your own relationship to life, and forces you to confront your own mortality in ways most people rarely consider.

Our youth feels like a guarantee, but if anything, this is a reminder that nothing in life is guaranteed—not even life itself.

The one part of this film I was most curious about is what kind of direction we would get from Chloe Zhao after her short stint with Marvel. I never understood the hype behind Nomadland (2020), which won Best Picture at the Oscars, and even though I thought Eternals (2021) was a fine, albeit forgettable film, Chloe continued to have a reputation as one of the best working filmmakers today.

Now I understand why. This is a crowning achievement of a film that deserves every ounce of praise that has come and will come its way.

Paul Mescal is tremendous as the committed-to-his-craft father, William Shakespeare; Jessie Buckley is the true lead of the film and will crush your soul with her gutting performance as the grief-stricken mother; and then there’s Jacobi Jupe, who will break your heart with his precious depiction of innocence.

HAMNET is Chloe Zhao’s magnum opus. This film does not shy away from the broken hearts of a family; it plunges even deeper into the abyss of loss and suffering in ways that make for the most moving cinematic experience of the year. 

Enjoy!

9.6/10 🍿 🎥

Runtime: 2hrs05mins

Where: Exclusively on digital platforms to buy or rent starting February 3rd and on 4k UHD, BLU-RAY™ and DVD March 3rd from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

The Richmond Reviewer Hamnet Review (2025) - November 13th, 2025.

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