“Hamnet” – What we all need in the New Year? Challenging drama
which gradually unfolds to a telling finale.
Starring Paul Mescal (Latin Tutor – Shakespeare), Jessie Buckley
(“Agnes”) Emily Watson, Noah Jupe, Jacobi Jupe, Bodhi Rae
Breatnach, Olivia Lynes and David Wilmot amongst the talented
cast.
Director Chloe Zhao – 2 hours 5 mins running time – Golden Globe
Award for best motion picture. When the film premiered this year in
Telluride it was met with rave reviews, later making Zhao the first to
win TIFF People’s Choice Award twice. Steven Spielberg and Sam
Mendes are among the Producers.
This film is based on the novel “Hamnet” by Maggie O’Farrell. It
covers the early life and love interest, then later life, family and work
but not works of William Shakespeare and his family. If you go to see
the film, be prepared to be ready to do your own sums and analyses
of much of the early sagas where it is not clear who is who. The
scenes are endearingly countrified with the interiors carefully staged
to show life at that time round the table and in various
accommodations. Costumes, characterisations and footage of the
wonderful frontages of the houses and local countryside in parts is
endearing.
We are given some very challenging scenes to digest including
romantic and grieving and childbirth. I expect we are to digest these
and applaud the spontinaiety and long term study in the craft of
acting as various sagas unfold. How much of this story is true? Why
are we to assume who is Shakespeare, who is his wife, and why are
we told her mother was some kind of witch? Would the real
Shakespeare be turning in his grave to know how he is portrayed in this film narrative? What is the significance of the hawk and is it
based on true history or some inflated imagination?
See it and make your own conclusions. The book is quite good but
we must make our own judgements on how much is fiction and how
much is fact or “faction”.
Penny Nair Price