Hamnet has entered the cultural zeitgeist with rave reviews, The book, written by Maggie O’Farrell, was published in 2020. The film rights were quickly snapped up by Focus Features, with Chloe Zhao as the director and screenwriter, alongside O’Farrell. Award-winning actors, Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley, brought William and Agnes Shakespeare to life. Released in the UK on the 9th January 2026, reviewers began to heap praise upon it. But is the film worth your time, or is it simply just Oscars bait?
What is the film about?
Hamnet follows Agnes Shakespeare and her husband and playwright, William Shakespeare. You watch them meet, fall in love, marry, have children and then lose a child. You meet the Shakespeare children, Suzanne and the twins, Judith and Hamnet, and you see how deeply loved they are by their parents. Though, unsurprisingly, William Shakespeare has big dreams of becoming a famous playwright in London. To pursue his dreams, he leaves home, with the begrudging permission of his wife, to write. With Agnes left alone to raise their children, you see the immense burden placed upon her as she struggles to protect her family from the bubonic plague. It’s a tale of love, loss, grief, and the aftershocks of death.
The critical response
Hamnet has been lauded by critics. Soon after its release, the film won a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture. Jessie Buckley, who plays Agnes, won a Golden Globe award for Best Actress. With a Rotten Tomatoes score of 86%, Hamnet has definitely reached its target audience. However, that doesn’t mean it is without its criticism. Patrick Sproull, of The Independent, referred to the film as “manipulative”. He claims that “Hamnet is so insistent on sandblasting the tears out of you”. He is not alone in this belief. There is much conversation online over whether Hamnet is heavy handed or not. It is an emotionally intense film, which connects to some, but not to others. Zoe Williams, a writer for The Guardian, questions who gets to define a film as “emotionally manipulative”, claiming that “if the death left you cold”, you will usually find the “ensuing emotionality manipulative and domineering”. Though if you find the death profound, you are more likely to view the emotionality as raw and honest art.
Did I enjoy it?
I went to watch the film at the cinema with my Mum. It was an odd experience being sat in a dark room with strangers and hearing them weep at various points throughout the film. I found Hamnet deeply moving. Personally, I did not find it manipulative. I’m not entirely sure if there is another way to make a movie about a child’s death and the ensuing fallout that isn’t intense and distressing. I did find it funny watching Tiktok reviews afterwards of people crying in the cinema, though.
Unsurprisingly, it is not a light and happy film. It’s beautiful, profound, and moving, but certainly not a film that leaves you on a high. Jessie Buckley’s performance is the key driver of this emotionality. It feels somewhat redundant to praise an award-winning actor for their performance, but you cannot understate her talent. Much like Agnes in the story, Jessie is the anchor of the film. Her Golden Globe award was well-deserved.
The biggest star of the film, though, is Jacobi Jupe. Aged only 12, he had the immense responsibility of playing the titular character, Hamnet. He had to act some fairly distressing scenes, and yet he is so convincing. When I left the cinema, he was all people were talking about. He’s definitely one to watch!
It is worth your time!
It does have all the traits of an Oscar-winning film: it’s historical, emotionally intense, and a book adaptation, all the things the Oscars seem to love. But I do think it is a film for the masses. To me at least, the film does not feel pretentious. Hamnet is worth your time, as long as you are in a good place mentally before entering the cinema.
