Hamnet (film)
3ms
From Academy Award® winning writer/director Chloé Zhao, *Hamnet* tells the powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare's timeless masterpiece, *Hamlet*. This historical drama, based on Maggie O'Farrell's acclaimed novel, delves into the profound relationship between William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes, and the devastating impact of their son Hamnet's tragic death. Starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal as Agnes and William, alongside Emily Watson and Joe Alwyn, the film has garnered critical acclaim for Zhao's masterful direction and screenplay, and the truly astonishing performances from its lead actors.
*Hamnet* premiered to rave reviews at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival. It will receive a limited theatrical release in the United States and Canada on November 27, 2025, with a nationwide expansion on December 12, 2025, followed by its United Kingdom release on January 9, 2026.
The film's journey began with a stage production of Maggie O'Farrell's novel, leading to film rights acquisition by Hera Pictures, who then partnered with Neal Street Productions. Chloé Zhao was brought on board to direct and co-write the screenplay with O'Farrell. Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley entered negotiations and later confirmed their starring roles. Principal photography, originally slated for London, commenced in Wales in July 2024 and wrapped in September, with additional scenes filmed at London's Charterhouse. Joe Alwyn and Emily Watson joined the cast, with Steven Spielberg serving as a producer, Łukasz Żal as cinematographer, and Max Richter as composer.
Focus Features acquired distribution rights in August 2024, with Universal Pictures handling international distribution. After its world premiere at Telluride, *Hamnet* was selected for the Gala Presentations at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, where it proudly won the prestigious People's Choice Award. It also screened at the Rome Film Festival, the Valladolid International Film Festival for its Spanish premiere, and closed the Tokyo International Film Festival.
On Rotten Tomatoes, *Hamnet* boasts a remarkable 90% positive rating, with critics praising its emotional resonance and the "astonishing performances" of Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal. Metacritic awarded the film a score of 90 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim." Jessie Buckley's performance, in particular, has been widely lauded as revelatory and breathtaking, described as "thunderous, playful, grounded and ethereal." Paul Mescal's portrayal has been called "cathartically transcendent." Critics have hailed the film as "devastating," "emotionally shattering," and a "tremendously acted heartbreaker," with some noting its unique approach to art and life. While some have pointed out potential anachronisms, the overwhelming consensus celebrates *Hamnet* as a poignant and powerful adaptation that brilliantly captures the inspiration behind Shakespeare's greatest work.
Hamnet is a 2025 historical drama film co-written, co-edited and directed by Chloé Zhao, based on Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 novel of the same name. The film follows the relationship between William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes, and the impact of the tragic death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet on their lives. It stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal as Agnes and William, respectively, alongside Emily Watson and Joe Alwyn in supporting roles.
Hamnet had its world premiere at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival, and will receive a limited theatrical release in the United States and Canada on November 27, 2025 by Focus Features, expanding nationwide on December 12, 2025, before its release in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2026 by Universal Pictures. It has received critical acclaim for Zhao's direction and screenplay, as well as Buckley and Mescal's performances.
== Plot ==
"From Academy Award® winning writer/director Chloé Zhao, Hamnet tells the powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare's timeless masterpiece, Hamlet."
- Focus Features
== Cast ==
== Production ==
A stage production of Maggie O'Farrell's novel was announced in November 2022, with the film rights having been acquired prior to publication by London-based Liza Marshall and her company Hera Pictures who then partnered with Neal Street Productions. In April 2023, Chloé Zhao was hired to direct the film, and would write the screenplay alongside O'Farrell.
In May, Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley entered negotiations to star in the film. Mescal confirmed in a January 2024 interview that he and Buckley would star.
Principal photography was originally scheduled to begin in London on 3 June 2024. Production instead began in Wales on 29 July 2024, and wrapped on 30 September. While most of the film was shot in Wales, scenes were also filmed in London at the Charterhouse, which served as the largest London location for the production. Joe Alwyn and Emily Watson were added to the cast in August, with Steven Spielberg joining the film as a producer. Łukasz Żal serves as cinematographer. Max Richter will serve as the film's composer.
== Release ==
Focus Features acquired distribution rights to Hamnet in August 2024, with its parent Universal Pictures handling its international distribution. It had its world premiere at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival on 29 August 2025. In July 2025, the film was announced as part of the Gala Presentations lineup of the 50th 2025 Toronto International Film Festival where it went on to win the prestigious People's Choice Award. It will also be screened in non-competitive section 'Grand public' of the 20th Rome Film Festival in October 2025 before its theatrical release, in the official selection of the 70th Valladolid International Film Festival on 27 October 2025 (for its Spanish premiere), and close 38th Tokyo International Film Festival on 5 November 2025.
The film is scheduled for a limited theatrical release in the United States on 27 November 2025, ahead of a wide release two weeks later on 12 December 2025. It will later be released in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2026, and in Australia on 15 January.
== Reception ==
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 48 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Breaking hearts and mending them in one fell swoop, Hamnet speculates on the inspiration behind Shakespeare's masterpiece with palpable emotional force thanks to Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal's astonishing performances." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 90 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Buckley's performance in particular was widely praised. David Fear of Rolling Stone opined that people "will be talking about Jessie Buckley’s performance for years". Screen Daily's Tim Grierson thought Mescal's role was similar to his previous work but "the regularly superb Buckley is revelatory as a wild creature who experiences the exhilaration of motherhood as well as the heartbreak of loss." Johnny Oleksinski at New York Post wrote that "it's Buckley who's giving one of those rare turns that simply beggars belief. She swings back and forth from cast iron to porcelain. The actress is thunderous, playful, grounded and ethereal." Peter Debruge of Variety declared the film to be "so emotionally raw as to be almost excruciating at times" "featuring a heroic performance from Jessie Buckley".
Bilge Ebiri of Vulture described Hamnet as "devastating, maybe the most emotionally shattering movie I've seen in years". Angie Han of The Hollywood Reporter summed the film in the bottom line as "a tremendously acted heartbreaker". Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood wrote that Hamnet, "with its quiet determination to say much about how art is affected by life, is unlike anything else".
David Ehrlich of IndieWire affirms that with Hamnet, "it would be hard to imagine a more fitting tribute to Shakespeare's most widely interpreted play." On the performances, Ehrlich notes that the character of Agnes is not built on tropes but is "anchored by the primordial rawness of Buckley’s astonishing performance." Whereas on Mescal's performance he found it to be "cathartically transcendent, because it at last rewards that search... as Will starts looking for his son in the space between life and death."
Richard Lawson in The Guardian gave it four stars, calling it a "poignant adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel with a stirring tearjerker ending".
On a less positive side, The Wall Street Journal's Kyle Smith called it a "quintessential Oscar bait (highbrow foundation; maximal crying and emoting) but is dogged by intellectual anachronism."
=== Accolades ===
== References ==
== External links ==
Official website
Hamnet at IMDb
Home
Languages