Hamnet
Studio: Focus Features
Director: Chloé Zhao
Nov 27, 2025
Hamnet is a poignant historical drama based on Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel of the same name. She has adapted her own book with co-writer Chloé Zhao, who also directs the picture. The two have beautifully translated O’Farrell’s text onto the screen, with Hamnet standing out as a powerful adaptation this awards season.
Jessie Buckley gives a deeply felt performance as Agnes, a woman many believe is a “forest witch.” She falls in love with William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), but he longs to explore his creative side in the city, while Agnes prefers her bucolic home. The two have three children, including the title character, but Agnes believes she was only meant to have two. When tragedy strikes, it takes a toll on the family and on Shakespeare’s blossoming writing career.
O’Farrell and Zhao’s screenplay feels focused and intimate throughout despite spanning many years. It’s a complex character study of a woman who must face her relationship with nature, the challenges of marriage and motherhood, and the heartbreak of loss. The supporting characters and Shakespeare are more distant, but Agnes is richly drawn at the center. The dialogue in the script feels natural, too, and it doesn’t try to be overly ornate despite Shakespeare being a character in the film.
Zhao brings her usual delicate touch to the material in Hamnet. Along with her creative team—including composer Max Richter and cinematographer Łukasz Żal—she brings Agnes’ world to life with intense and graceful sounds and images. From lush woods to dark bedrooms to grand theatre stages, Hamnet offers well-realized settings; one particular overhead shot involving the stage and the play Hamlet is simply unforgettable.
The cast in Hamnet has no weak links. Buckley is the heart of the film. Her performance goes beyond acting and feels raw and real from beginning to end. Mescal is also very strong, avoiding making Shakespeare larger than life and instead portraying him as a struggling husband and artist. The supporting players (including Joe Alwyn, Emily Watson, and Jacobi Jupe) get less to do, but they still impress.
Hamnet is Zhao’s best film yet and one of the standouts of 2025. It’s a fictionalized but moving portrait of Shakespeare’s family, blending the real, the strange, and the tragic with poetic results. O’Farrell’s novel moved many readers to tears, and Zhao’s film will likely do the same for moviegoers.
Author rating: 9/10
