from the series Movie Corner…
5/5 Stars
Period Piece/Romance/Drama
Focus Features
By HOWARD MCQUITTER II
When I was a kid, I had a love for period pieces and other genres such as Anthony Mann’s El Cid (1961) and Peter Glenville’s Becket (1964). Fast forward to December 2025 as I watched the highly touted film Hamnet.
Hamnet is hauntingly filled with grief as the pestilence lies in the background like a leopard waiting in a bush before it pounces on its prey. At the center of this 16th century (c1590) English village is William Shakespeare, his wife Agnes, and three children, one of whom is the young boy named Hamnet. In Shakespeare’s time, the names of “Hamnet” and “Hamlet” were interchangeable. Agnes is an extraordinary woman as a healer and Will a promising playwright and actor.
Hamnet is told through the eyes of Agnes as a family affair. Even when death grips the most vulnerable, it is life that is fervently upheld. Will and Agnes are living concurrently when Queen Elizabeth I (d. 1603) ruled England.
Cinematographer Lukasz Zal gives Hamnet stunning visual scenes. Director Chloe Zhao successfully creates an atmosphere of emotion as well as inspiration and sublimity in Hamnet. All the cast members give astounding performances. My predictions for the Oscars: Jessie Buckley will be nominated Best Actress, Chloe Zhao will be nominated for Best Director, and possible consideration for Best Supporting Actor is Jacobi Jupe.
HOWARD MCQUITTER II is a longtime movie critic. He has been reviewing movies for the alley since 2002.
Cast: Jessie Buckley (Agnes), Paul Mescal (Will), Emily Watson (Mary), Joe Alwyn (Bartholomew), Olivia Lynes (Judith), Justine Mitchell (Joan), Louisa Harland (Rowan), Freya Hannan-Mills (Eliza), Smylie Bradwell (Young Bartholomew), Jacobi Jupe (Hamnet)
Director: Chloe Zhao.
Screenwriter: Maggie O’ Farrell.
Set Decorator: Alice Felton.
Cinematographer: Lukasz Zal.
(PG-13) Running time: 125 minutes.
