Hamnet (2025)

Paul Mescal plays William Shakespeare, and somehow he’s only the second most important person in his own story. That’s on purpose. Chloé Zhao hands Hamnet to Agnes, and Jessie Buckley takes it with both hands: a woman who calls a hawk down to her glove, treats wounds with herbs and loves her children with a fierceness that is almost hard to watch. Mescal is good, but William is away in London so often that he feels more like a letter than a husband, and the role sits close to parts he’s played before. The film is also so emotionally raw that some stretches feel close to unbearable, and it never softens them. It shouldn’t. A note at the start says Hamnet and Hamlet were once the same name, and Zhao builds everything toward what that means. Jacobi Jupe is lovely as the boy. It made $109.5 million worldwide. A 9.0 because Buckley gives a performance people will talk about for years. $46.69 says you ask someone you love to tell you a story tonight, just to hear their voice.

What works: Jessie Buckley is astonishing as Agnes, and Chloé Zhao’s quiet, nature-soaked filmmaking makes the family’s love feel completely real.

What doesn’t: William is so often offstage that Paul Mescal’s role feels underwritten, and the emotional intensity is so relentless that it can be exhausting.

Who it’s for: Viewers ready for a sincere, slow and deeply emotional drama, and anyone curious about the family life behind Hamlet.