THE JESSIE BUCKLEY SHOW - My Quick Review of Chloe Zhao's HAMNET

*While this is a fictionalized story in many ways and there are certain elements that did occur in a historical sense, I will just warn you that I will discuss key plot points freely, so consider this something of a spoiler warning* 

When it comes to filmmakers working today, there is something that is quietly alluring about the work of Chloe Zhao. She is able to create works that feel so inherently human and vulnerable and that flirt with feeling very naturalistic.

Having said that, I am not sure she has yet to truly blow me away with a film.

Her best work was the little 2018 indie called The Rider, about a rodeo rider who had suffered brain damage in an accident during one of his shows. It was her 2020 film Nomadland that made her only the 2nd woman to win a Best Directing Oscar and the 1st woman of color to do so: plus, the film netted wins for Best Picture and Best Actress for Frances McDormand. 

I was not overly enamored with Nomadland. I admired it a great deal and it was clear that Zhao and her cinematographer/life partner Joshua James Richards have mastery skills at bringing out a sense of scope in small intimate settings. It just didn't pull me in that much...plus it did rub me the wrong way how it almost seemed to praise Amazon as a wonderful company to work for. 

When it comes to Hamnet, I would argue that it is likely her most accessible and easiest watch...which is saying a whole hell of a lot considering its key plot point as the film progresses is the death of a young boy. 

2025 as a year of film is rather all over the place in terms of quality. I would argue maybe it was a tad better than 2024, but there were many films that didn't quite live up to the reputation I kept hearing about. I say this not to say that I hated Hamnet...far from it actually. I wouldn't say I loved it either. I would say it is once again a film that I greatly admired and even found moments that were truly beautiful or remarkable...but at best, I would say I really liked it. 

Based on a 2020 novel by Maggie O'Farrell, Hamnet tells a fictionalized account of how legendary playwright William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) met his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley), their budding relationship/marriage, the birth of their children, and the eventual death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe). 

You could say there is a subgenre of films that delve into grief, but even more so within that, you have the films that deal with grief and the artistic process. Some of my favorite examples of these include Three Colours: Blue and Drive My Car...but I don't think that Hamnet reaches the level of those two. 

Although, I will say it is the final act that pushes Hamnet to a whole other level. As a means to work through the grief of Hamnet's death, he writes what will become one of his most defining works: Hamlet. It was while watching the work right at the apron of the Globe that Agnes is able to more easily come to terms with her son's death...just like how Yusuke uses his production of Uncle Vanya to cope with the death of his wife in Drive My Car or how Julie manages to help complete a musical piece of her husband's after he and their daughter perish in a car accident in Three Colours: Blue. 

If there is anything that I can say sells this with any grandeur, it is that of Jessie Buckley. 

Buckley has been doing such good work for the last several years, such as being a standout in the mawkish Judy or being able to navigate the bizarre trappings of Charlie Kaufman's worst effort in, I'm Thinking of Ending Things. She also did such a great job in The Lost Daughter as the younger version of Olivia Colman's Leda. 

Unless there is some kind of crazy last-minute surge for someone else, I would make the claim right now that the only true lock of an acting Oscar win as of now is Buckley.

While she does face strong competition from Rose Byrne's anxiety attack of a performance in If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, there is no denying that Buckley's portrayal of Agnes will be talked about for years to come. While in her quieter moments, she comes off as very strong-willed with an ethereal quality...but it is when she throws herself into the dramatic that she shines. Her birthing scenes are intense in how realistic they are, but when we get to the scene where Hamnet perishes from the plague, Zhao/Richards leave the camera fastened on Buckley's face as she wails with absolute grief. It is rather unsettling in moments because it feels uncomfortable to witness such a private moment, and even visually as at one moment, Buckley's eyes seem to roll in the back of her head.

Paul Mescal was seen as something of the big Oscar snub on nomination morning, although some did predict he could be the one to surprisingly miss. I do think he did a lovely job, but I also didn't find myself as engaged with him as this was clearly The Jessie Buckley Show. 

I do want to single out Jacobi Jupe as the titular Hamnet. 

I feel like in recent years we've been seeing an uptick in stronger performances by children, and I do think Jupe does such a magnificent job with his crying scenes and also his death scene. It doesn't feel like a performance that had a director meddling too much with obvious coaching...but then again, I still feel like the Brits just seem to pick up on acting a lot better than most. I suspect we will see great things from him...much like his older brother Noah Jupe, who just so happens to be the young actor playing Hamlet at the end. 

Hamnet is a handsomely made film that does take an eviscerating look at grief and the means of art healing oneself after the fact. I am just not sure I got hit as strongly by the wave of emotions as others did despite acknowledging how well Buckley navigated such a taxing role.

I am not part of the group that calls this a masterpiece, but if you were to see it for any reason, I would say Jessie Buckley is more than enough to do so.

HAMNET Rating: 7.5/10