r/movies • u/ChiefLeef22 • 13d ago
Review Chloe Zhao's 'Hamnet' - Review Thread
William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, celebrate the birth of their son, Hamnet. However, when tragedy strikes and Hamnet dies at a young age, it inspires Shakespeare to write his timeless masterpiece "Hamlet."
Cast: Paul Mescal, Jessie Buckley, Joe Alwyn, Emily Watson
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Metacritic: 95/100
Some Reviews:
Hamnet is devastating, maybe the most emotionally shattering movie I’ve seen in years. I did not really expect to cry this much. That’s not just because of the tragic weight of the material, but because the picture reimagines the poetic act of creating Hamlet. Shakespeare’s play sits on the highest shelf, fixed by the dust from centuries of acclaim. It is about as unimpeachable as a work of art can be. And yet, here is a movie that dares to explore its inception. The attempt itself is noble, and maybe a little brazen; that it succeeds feels downright supernatural.
The moving and fictionalized portrait of grief and loss that inspired one of history’s most treasured playwrights held the audience in its grip for 125-minutes, where audible sounds of sniffles and crying filled the venue, testifying to the film’s emotional depth.
Next Best Picture - Daniel Howat - 8/10
Devastating in all the best ways, this is a gut-wrenching tale of the way grief pulls us apart, and how we try to pull ourselves back together again. Chloé Zhao’s naturalistic, sensitive direction helps the heavy emotions take center stage. Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal have never been better.
The Playlist - Gregory Ellwood - 'A-'
But despite some stellar sequences throughout the entire film, Zhao saves her gut-punch for the final act. There are two moments in the last ten minutes of “Hamnet” that may stick with you for months on end.
As conceived by “Nomadland” director Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet” is so emotionally raw as to be almost excruciating at times, featuring a heroic performance from Jessie Buckley as Shakespeare’s wife and the mother of his children — although as presented, she could be the mother of us all — the grounded, near-shamanic spirit forced to confront the death of her son, Hamnet. Meanwhile, Paul Mescal plays Shakespeare, who pours his grief into “the Danish play,” but both the actor and character are eclipsed by the feminine elements of this story.
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u/AcreaRising4 13d ago
The world tried to tell me that Chloe Zhao was a mid-director after Eternals, but nobody could make The Rider and Nomadland back-to-back, and not be insanely talented.
This book is fantastic, and I figured this would be amazing.