Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal’s award-winning drama has landed a new streaming home in the UK. Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, Hamnet tells a fictional account of how William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes coped with an unthinkable tragedy.
Set in the 1500s, the movie begins with William (Mescal) and Agnes (Buckley) falling in love and building a family together. But as the playwright’s career blossoms in London, his wife is left to deal with the death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet.
The tragedy causes a huge strain in William and Agnes’ marriage, with the former throwing himself into his work. Hamnet’s death supposedly inspired Shakespeare to write Hamlet, with the two names considered interchangeable at the time.
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The movie hit UK cinemas earlier this year, but if you missed it on the big screen and want to see what all the fuss is about, then you’re in luck. Hamnet is currently available to watch from the comfort of your own home on Sky Cinema and NOW (with a Cinema membership).
Directed, written and edited by Chloé Zhao, Hamnet holds an 87% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 350 reviews. Critics praised the cast’s emotional performances and the cinematography, with The Mary Sue declaring it: “a breathtakingly real and perfect look at art, love, and grief.”
“It wants to devastate you without depressing you… That’s what this movie is going for, and it absolutely achieves it,” said FilmWeek.
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“The film’s potency is derived as much from the physicality of the performances – Mescal’s restless, questing agitation, Buckley’s open book of a face – as it is from the dialogue,” wrote The Observer.
Digital Spy awarded the movie five stars, calling it: “a genuine work of art that you get immersed in.”
Our review continued: “Whether you’ll want to immediately put yourself through Hamnet again is down to just how deeply it breaks you. But as devastating as it is, there’s also a message of hope and love living on in its poignant final moments that will also stay with you, whether you can face a rewatch or not.”
Hamnet is available on Sky Cinema and NOW (with a Cinema membership).
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