Paul Mescal gives us a treat as William Shakespeare, or Will as he’s known, alongside an equally good Jessie Buckley, in Hamnet, director Chloe Zhao’s verdant adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel. Hamnet imagines the late sixteenth century world of Shakespeare from his life as a young Latin tutor in Stratford-Upon-Avon through to meeting his wife Agnes (Anne) Hathaway, their marriage, and the birth of three children, Shakespeare’s career success as a playwright, and the subsequent death of Hamnet, their eleven-year-old son. This death, from bubonic plague, and the grief around it, is assumed by O’Farrell and Zhao to have inspired his tragic play Hamlet, where a young prince meets a sad end, widely considered one of the greatest plays of all time.

The eighteen-year-old Shakespeare has a strained relationship at home. He’s working as a Latin tutor for a family friend to help pay off his father’s debts to that family, as well as in his father’s glove-making business. Whilst at work, he meets the earthly loner Agnes (Buckley), a twenty-six-year-old daughter of a forest-witch, who’s very much connected to the ground and nature. She’s slightly ostracised from the local community and Shakespeare is warned against developing a relationship with her. The couple, however, connect well, and end up getting married and bearing three children, Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), and twins Judith (Olivia Lynes) and Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe). Shakespeare starts working in London, spending a lot of time away from his family, particularly as his career as a playwright takes off and he starts developing the Globe theatre. Agnes resents this absenteeism somewhat, even if it eventually affords them the largest house in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Things reach a brutal head when Hamnet dies a painful death from plague and Shakespeare is absent, away at work. What follows is a thoughtful study of the different effects of grief on each partner.

Chloe Zhao (Nomadland, The Rider) is the right director for Hamnet. Her work to date has explored identity, loneliness, displacement and connection, as well as the search for belonging. She’s made full use of landscapes where available. All this is reflected in Hamnet, a poignant piece that feels authentic. Beautiful rural Herefordshire was used for filming the scenes set in Stratford-upon-Avon, the film’s lush outdoor scenes are magnificent, as are the Elizabethan interior shots. The scenes from the play set at the Globe theatre are particularly special, very beautiful and poignant. Fans of Paul Mescal won’t be disappointed, he looks like the young Shakespeare and is driven, sexy and wears his broken heart subtly on his sleeve. Buckley also delivers a very strong career-defining performance; it’s very much her story. The raw grief is palpable. There is maybe an imbalance in the film between the build-up to Hamnet’s death and the relatively short amount of time allocated to the grief post-death and the development of the play. We also aren’t treated to enough time with Hamnet as a person, so we don’t really get to know him, making it harder to grieve for his death. Nevertheless, you will probably shed tears at the finale.  7/10