From the mind of New York Times bestselling author Maggie O’Farrell and the lens of Academy Award–winning director Chloé Zhao comes Hamnet—a hauntingly beautiful adaptation starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley.

In O’Farrell’s beloved novel we’re introduced to the imagined early life of William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes. Told from her perspective, we get a fresh view on one of literature’s greatest legends and his humble beginnings. From their whirlwind courtship to the initial sparks of his genius, these pastoral and impoverished early days give us a fictional glimpse that provides insight into his formative and historically absent years. Set in the midst of The Black Death, the story focuses particularly on the loss of their son Hamnet and the debut of perhaps the most famous play of all time, Hamlet.

A Story of Unimaginable Grief

Instead of chronologically unfolding this review, it seems relevant to first and foremost address the biggest element of the story. Not as a warning—though be prepared—but as a fundamental. For any parent, the loss of a child is the most horrifying prospect in this life. And that is what Hamnet is about. It isn’t about the love between Will and Agnes, it isn’t about the art, it isn’t even really about history. This story orbits almost entirely around the soul-shattering experience of losing a child.

That’s not to say that every moment is focused on death, but it is a heavy and honest portrayal of tremendous grief. Both actors do an astounding job housing this emotion in their performances, but Jessie Buckley in particular showcases not only her talent, but a raw and unfiltered interpretation of a mother’s devastation that will haunt viewers long after credits roll.

In an interview with The Guardian, O’Farrell discussed how historians tend to dismiss the loss of Shakespeare’s son and minimize the impact it may have had on him:

“‘Whenever they talked about his death, it would be followed by several paragraphs about infant mortality in the late 16th century.’” The authors would explain that infant mortality was commonplace and imply that parents barely reacted when their children died. “’I found this an extraordinary assumption,’” she says. “’Hamnet was 11…'”

The book and subsequently the movie dive into the death headfirst. A mother herself, you can feel O’Farrell’s deep belief that this loss had a grand impact and Zhao did not shy away from that on the screen. The movie opens with the explanation that Hamnet and Hamlet were interchangeable names, kicking things off with a declaration that the loss and the play are undeniably and inseparably intertwined. And by the end of Hamnet, it’s impossible to deny or to see the history any other way.

A Fully Imagined Family

Despite the sparse information about Shakespeare’s life, the adaptation—following the novel’s lead—brings vivid color to each of the characters it explores. The idealistic and under-inspired early life of Shakespeare living as a glover’s eldest son. The witchy, ethereal interpretation of Agnes feels so convincing and tangible, you’ll wish for even more of her story. Finally, what is truly an achievement in any film, is getting us to deeply care about their children. Too often treated like window dressing, it is no small task to make you deeply care about children when you’re telling the story of Shakespeare falling in love and starting his career.

The portrayal of Hamnet by Jacobi Jupe masterfully pulls us into adoration before breaking us with devastation.

We witness each of the children’s births. It is always a dubious task to honor the experience on screen, but it is held with care. And then viewers watch them as they grow and entwine with Shakespeare’s work and their mother’s otherworldly presence. You’ll find yourself entirely caught up in the life of the Shakespeare’s, not just the famed writer. This build up makes the inevitable dark night even darker when it arrives.

Buckley and Mescal walk through the grief felt by a mother and father separately, but parallel. She grows dim, unable to bear the weight and he retreats, into his work, tucking his sorrow into dark corners, opposite his wife’s.

It’s so believable and so expertly crafted that all you can feel is that O’Farrell has somehow pulled from the collective consciousness a truth that was never deeply documented and Zhao unearthed each painstaking scene of that grief-stricken time with razor precision.

Book vs. Movie

As always, what readers want to know is: Was the book better than the movie?

First of all, the answer is always, yes. Why do we keep asking? But if you’re looking for a deeper dive, we’ve got it.

Linear vs. Non-Linear Storytelling 

The most obvious difference you’ll find is in the structure of the story. The movie unfolds chronologically. The novel, however, operates in a more non-linear fashion, using parallel timelines to tell the story.

An Even More Feminine Take

Though Agnes and her POV show up fully on the page in the novel, she takes an even bigger step forward in the movie. To some extent, William Shakespeare operates as a side character to her story rather than the thing that makes the story significant. Even the final scene when Hamlet debuts feels like Agnes’ moment and not Will’s. For some, this may take away the impact, for others, it’s a doubling down on the idea that Hamlet wasn’t created in a vacuum and that artists are a sum of all that surrounds them, not an internalized process of extracting genius.

The Connection to Hamlet

The movie chooses to make the connection between the loss of Hamnet and the creation of Hamlet even more explicit than the  book does. It even goes so far as to cast Jupe’s real-life older brother, Noah, into the role of Hamlet in the final scene to drive the ghostly point home. We’re meant to truly see the full circle moment and feel the healing that comes from transmitting grief into art.

The theater emptied with many viewers still full-blown sobbing—myself included. It’s not subtle the emotions you’re meant to feel in the movie, but it is effective. Trite as it may sound, you can never see Hamlet the same once you’ve experienced Hamnet.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

In plague-ravaged 1580s England, a poor Latin tutor falls for Agnes, a wild, gifted woman with a talent for healing. Together they build a life on Henley Street, until tragedy strikes: their young son is lost to a fever, upending everything that bound them together. But out of the seemingly insurmountable grief comes a story that will change the world.

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