Hamnet is a historical drama following Agnes, a healer with a deep connection to nature, and William Shakespeare, who works as a tutor, paying family debt.
Agnes marries Williams, a tutor and aspiring playwright. They have children and live in Stratford-upon-Avon while William works in London, gaining success.
Eleven years later, now-successful Williams returns intermittently while the children grow up very close.
Returning to London, Williams wanders the streets during an outbreak of bubonic plague and watches a puppet show depicting the plague carrying people off to death.
While Agnes manages life at home, the plague strikes, causing their son Hamnet to die, devastating the family.
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The drama focuses on their marriage, the strain of distance and their intense grief following the death of their son. Agnes eventually travels to London to witness the play, realizing it is her husband’s tribute to their son. The play progresses through scenes of sword-fighting, fulfilling Hamnet’s dream of such a role, she envisions Hamnet on the stage, seen earlier as his dying vision.
Hamnet centres on the distinct ways Agnes and Williams grieve, with Williams writing ‘Hamnet’ as a way to process the loss of his son.
Hamnet makes one ask, “what does a mother do when her grief becomes her husband’s art?
Hamnet proves that sometimes the truest art is the one that never gets written.
Directed by: Chloe Zhao
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Jacobi June, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn
Running time: 126 minutes
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