Chloé Zhao has had quite the career as a filmmaker. Becoming the second woman to ever win Best Director at the Academy Awards for her work on Nomadland, she instantly became one of the most popular female directors working today. Things took a turn, however, with the release of Eternals, becoming the lowest rated movie in the MCU at the time of its release. Going from a Best Picture-winning film to one of the most polarizing superhero films in recent years made people question what Zhao would do next. After failing to capture audiences with the big budget scale of Eternals, Zhao returned to her roots with Hamnet, a melancholic and intimate family drama.

The film follows the lives of William Shakespeare, known as Will, and his wife, Agnes, played by Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley. After a tragedy strikes their family, the two struggle to come to terms with their lives, losing their sense of purpose and being unable to move forward. Whether it is writing theater plays or sneaking out into the woods, Agnes and Will find it extremely difficult to work through their tragedy together as they both cope with their emotions differently. From loud outbursts to quiet mental breakdowns, Hamnet is littered with sequences that will tear your heart out.

Chloe Zhao proves once again to be a force behind the camera. The grand scale that she brings to the film makes the intimate family drama feel large in scope. The blocking and placement of the camera is always given purpose, allowing the images to breathe life and provoke meaning. The cinematography by Lukasz Zal helps capture the film’s grandeur, using wide angles and slow pans to convey its universal tale and the characters’ stakes. A film tackling heavy themes such as death and grief could easily come across as melodramatic, but Zhao brings a profound perspective to the story, making it grounded and nearly impossible to resist getting wrapped up in.

Each conversation is layered with nuance and humanity, evoking realism despite its magical undertones. Despite Shakespeare being known for his biblical dialogue, the film has its characters speak in a mostly straightforward manner. Yet, it still retains the subtlety and depth of Shakespeare’s best work. Each character is well-defined, with Agnes’s larger-than-life presence beautifully balanced with Will’s subdued nature, showing how opposites attract as well as where potential conflicts could arise. Seeing how the two grapple with tragedy makes for an extremely compelling drama, depicting the importance of family and the arts.

Although the writing does a lot of heavy lifting in conveying emotional impact, it’s the acting that makes the film as strong as it is. Paul Mascal effortlessly channels William Shakespeare with a quiet but always powerful performance. His character lacks the normal expressive emotions, instead channeling his thoughts and inner demons into the theater, and Mescal portrays that complexity beautifully. He has shown himself to play the quiet, mentally unwell man well in films like Aftersun, but his work here shows that he has progressed far as an actor since the 2022 role. The true star of the film is Jessie Buckley, who channels pain and sorrow to an emotionally grueling degree. The empathy she brings to the character is unmatched, allowing the audience to feel just as sad as she is on screen. Crying is often overexaggerated in films, but Buckley brilliantly conveys a painful cry that feels both raw and big. There is no question that she gives one of the best performances of the year, let alone female performances.

Jacobi Jupe has limited screen time as the titular Hamnet, but makes a huge impression. Being his second feature film, Jupe shows the range of a seasoned actor, beautifully portraying the wonder of a child while also exuding the pain of death. Most child performances come across as fake, mainly because the dialogue rarely matches what a child would actually say. Still, Hamnet‘s finely tuned script allows Jupe to fully embrace his childlike nature, which always feels real. Casting Noah Jupe, brother of Jacobi, to play Hamlet was not only a brilliant choice by the casting director, but Noah delivers what is easily his best performance. Appearing in numerous Oscar-nominated films like Wonder and Ford v. Ferrari, Noah Jupe has already built a name for himself, but his work as Hamlet allowed him to show his full potential. He plays an integral role in the third act, bringing the film’s themes to life through a stage play, and he delivers a ferocious, powerful performance that leaves you just as moved as the audience at his play. When it comes to child actors, there aren’t many who are as talented as the Jupe boys.

There have been numerous films about grief, and while the first half felt aimless about what it wanted to say, the second half is where the story’s true meat lies. The film discusses how people process their emotions and trauma in different ways, making this point by paralleling these processes through the arts. Whether it’s a film, a TV show, or a painting, art imitates life, and Hamnet uses that idea as its crux. Art allows others to interpret their lives through a different lens, making them more digestible, as depicted in the film through William Shakespeare. Struggling to come to terms with his life and needs, he seeks understanding through playwriting, which creates conflict with Agnes, who interprets life through human interaction. Seeing Agnes and Will learn to understand each other throughout the film makes for a sad yet beautiful look at relationships, with a finale sure to make one shed tears.

Hamnet may seem like an Oscar-bait drama at face value, but its perspective on grief and the arts, and the commanding performances from the ensemble, make it more than the average film. Zhao’s strong direction and comprehensive dissection of Shakespeare’s life make for a movie bound to leave an impact once the credits roll. With impeccable craftsmanship and an astounding screenplay, this easily stands as one of the best movies of the year.

Hamnet is now playing in select theaters.

Rating: 9/10

Oscar Prospects:

Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Casting