‘Hamnet,’ starring Jessie Buckley, directed by Chloé Zhao

 ‘Best picture’ Oscar contender saves the best for last

 

Hamnet, though its title may suggest otherwise, is very much Agnes Shakespeare’s (Jessie Buckley) movie, supported by Paul Mescal as Will and the astonishingly precocious Jacobi Jupe as the titular Hamnet. As for what it’s about, think “Scenes from a 17th-century Marriage” meets “Front Row at Hamlet“ and “Front Row at Hamlet“ takes the prize. The “Scenes...” scenes are far less involving, despite the trials and sorrows of the Shakespeares’ marriage.

This may be a minority opinion, but it seemed to me that the pacing of the opening two-thirds was off. Director Chloé Zhao is too methodical in setting up how Will and Agnes meet cute, marry and start a family. Too much of the film’s two-hour-plus running time is devoted to undramatic domestic interaction. Then boom! Out of nowhere Agnes is fighting the plague with herbs and cold compresses. Take away the period setting and it could be about a businessman who spends too much time at the office while his wife is raising the family in the suburbs. Instead, you have William Shakespeare living in London while he establishes himself as a playwright.

After the Elizabethan equivalent of a kitchen-sink play, the action moves from Stratford-on-Avon to London and the dramatic and emotional high point of the film. Agnes learns that Will’s company will premiere a play named after their son, and sets out for the first performance of Hamlet at the Globe, accompanied by her brother Bartholomew (Joe Alwyn). There, amidst the groundlings, she sees for apparently the first time what her husband is capable of. And possibly for the first time we see how Shakespeare has taken his grief and put it into the play, a play we thought we knew and understood.

A great part of the emotional impact of the final section comes from Noah Jupe’s understated performance of the excerpts from Hamlet that end the movie. Another standout is Joe Alwyn as Bartholomew. He was always welcome for the gravity and empathy he brought to the scenes he was in. They add ½⭐️ to the Letterboxd star score.

Hamnet is nominated for Academy Awards in the following categories: Motion Picture of the Year, Achievement in Directing, Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Production Design, Costume Design, and Casting. It won Golden Globes for Motion Picture - Drama and Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama for Jessie Buckley.