Verdict: 4.5 out of 5 stars. Hamnet is the most emotionally devastating film of its year — a luminous, shattering portrait of grief that also happens to be the origin story of the greatest play ever written. Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel is carried by a performance from Jessie Buckley so raw and so complete that it won her the Academy Award for Best Actress. It is a film you sit with long after the credits end.
| Director | Chloé Zhao |
| Starring | Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Jacobi Jupe, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn |
| Based on | Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (2020) |
| Release date | 26 November 2025 (US limited); 5 December 2025 (US wide); 9 January 2026 (UK) |
| Runtime | 126 minutes |
| Distributor | Focus Features (US); Universal Pictures (international) |
| Genre | Historical drama / romance |
| Certificate | PG-13 |
| Scores | 86% on Rotten Tomatoes (352 reviews); 84/100 on Metacritic; around 7.8/10 on IMDb (at the time of writing) |
What Hamnet Is About
Stratford-upon-Avon, in the last years of the 16th century. William Shakespeare — played by Paul Mescal — is a struggling young tutor and aspiring playwright, newly married to Agnes Hathaway (Jessie Buckley), a free spirit the town whispers is a witch’s daughter. They build a family: a daughter, Susanna, then twins, Hamnet and Judith.
Then, in 1596, plague comes to Stratford. Judith falls ill — and Hamnet, her twin brother, takes her place in death’s path. Eleven years old, he dies. The film follows what that loss does to a marriage, to a mother, and to a writer who, years later, will put his dead son’s name — Hamnet and Hamlet were, in Stratford, considered the same name — at the centre of his greatest play.
What Works
Almost everything. Chloé Zhao, the Oscar-winning director of Nomadland, films 16th-century England with a patient, naturalistic eye: golden fields, muddy lanes, candlelit rooms, and Łukasz Żal’s extraordinary cinematography, which makes every frame feel like a painting. Max Richter’s score, built around “On the Nature of Daylight”, carries the final sequence beyond words.
The film’s real achievement is its structure: Zhao refuses a straight line. We live with this family first, so the loss lands with the full weight of a shared life. Then, in the closing movement, Agnes watches the first Hamlet at the Globe and realises her husband has immortalised their son, not profaned him — one of the great endings in recent cinema. Critics agreed: 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, 84 on Metacritic, a 93% audience score, and the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
What Doesn’t Work
Hamnet is not an easy film, and it does not try to be. Its pace is deliberate, its grief unrelenting, and the long, quiet aftermath of Hamnet’s death may be almost too much for some viewers. This is a film to watch when you have the emotional room for it, not as light evening entertainment. Mescal is deliberately kept at the story’s edges for long stretches — this is Agnes’s film, and William’s absence is part of its design. Viewers expecting a Shakespeare biopic may be surprised by how little of the playwright’s public life appears on screen.
The Performances
Jessie Buckley gives the performance of her career — and, as the Academy agreed when it awarded her the Oscar for Best Actress, one of the great screen performances of recent years. Her Agnes is wild, tender, furious and broken by turns, and Buckley plays every register without a false note. Her scenes holding her dying son, and confronting a husband who grieves differently, are acting other actors study.
Mescal is quietly superb as William, a man whose genius is also a form of escape, until grief forces him to turn loss into art. Jacobi Jupe is heartbreaking as Hamnet, with strong support from Emily Watson and Joe Alwyn.
Awards and Box Office
Hamnet was one of the defining awards films of its season. It won Best Drama and Best Actress at the Golden Globes, earned eight Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Director, and took home Best Actress for Buckley. It also grossed around $109 million worldwide against a reported $30–35 million budget, and is now streaming on Netflix.
Verdict
Hamnet is a masterpiece of grief — beautifully made, brilliantly acted, and profoundly moving. It asks a great deal of its audience and gives even more back. Buckley’s performance alone would justify the ticket; the film around her makes it one of the essential films of the decade. Bring tissues, and clear your evening afterwards.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hamnet based on a true story?
It is based on Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel, imagining Shakespeare’s family life after 11-year-old Hamnet died of plague in 1596. The facts are real; the domestic detail is imagined.
Where can I watch Hamnet?
The film is now streaming on Netflix, after its theatrical run and a streaming debut on Peacock in March 2026.
Who stars in Hamnet?
Jessie Buckley plays Agnes, Paul Mescal plays William Shakespeare, with Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet, Emily Watson and Joe Alwyn in support.
Did Jessie Buckley win an Oscar for Hamnet?
Yes. Buckley won the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 98th Academy Awards in March 2026. The film received eight Oscar nominations in total, including Best Picture.
How long is Hamnet?
The film runs for 126 minutes (2 hours 6 minutes) and is rated PG-13.