Hamnet, Starring Paul Mescal And Jessie Buckley, Drops This Week
Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao returns with her newest film Hammet, based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell and starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley. A fictionalised historical drama, it’s set during the late 1500s and centres around William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes as they grieve the loss of their young son, Hamnet. It’s garnered critical acclaim so far and could well be a contender at the Oscars: here’s all we know so far.
What is Hamnet about?
This is a fictionalised account of the life of the world’s greatest playwright, one that imagines how exactly he and his wife lived and what they did in one of the most difficult periods of their lives. Agnes Shakespeare (or Anne Hathaway – no, not the actress), played by Buckley, and William, played by Mescal, have a young son, Hamnet, who in real life died at the age of 11 of unknown causes. The film’s central narrative revolves around how Shakespeare and Agnes/Anne cope with this loss, and shows some of their relationship beforehand. The emotional drama has plenty of winks and nods to the playwright’s works, like say Shakespeare in Love.
Since little is actually known about Hamnet’s life, Chloe Zhao takes dramatic licence-and critics have called the film emotionally heart-wrenching. After we see how Will and Agnes first meet, the story follows their married life. But when they lose their son and are shattered by grief, Will begins to channel those feelings as he writes a new play titled Hamlet, which will be published a few years later. His devastating experience and his greatest play are undeniably linked, and the film and book explore how. But it’s a film as much about Agnes as it is William himself, and how a woman often cast out for being different finds solace in her life.
What else do we know, and is there a release date?
The film has received high praise since debuting at the Telluride Film Festival, with particular acclaim going to the performances of Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, as well as Chloe Zhao’s direction. Also starring in the cast are Emily Watson, who plays Mary, Shakespeare’s mother, and Joe Alwyn, who plays Bartholomew, a relative of Agnes’. Hamnet releases on 9th January 2026 in the UK.
