- Content: “The Play’s the Thing. . .”
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Watch:
What You Need To Know:
HAMNET is a tale of love, loss, grief, and reconciliation. Ultimately, the movie says that honoring the memory of loved ones who have passed away is a good way to heal our grief. The movie also promotes the idea of sacrifice. That said, HAMNET includes a brief scene where Will and Agnes consummate their informal engagement. The pregnancy moves Agnes’ brother to consent to their marriage. The movie also has two birthing scenes, scenes illness resulting in death and other less vivid violence. Finally, Shakespeare’s wife has an occult-like “sixth sense.” So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.
Content:
Strong moral worldview with some redemptive elements about the love between William Shakespeare and his wife and children, with a focus on their loss and grief and ultimate healing when the Plague takes their young son and spares the son’s twin sister (but the movie shows the boy praying that his sister be spared, and he be taken in her place, so his tragic death becomes a moving act of sacrifice in the story), and Shakespeare finds a beautiful and powerful way to honor his son, but the wife and mother is depicted as a herbalist healer who has an occult “sixth sense” about things as well as a special connection to nature, and Shakespeare’s children have fun pretending to be the three witches form his play MACBETH (that scene is cute and played for laughs, and also shows how Shakespeare delights in and loves his children), plus wife and mother sees the spirit of her dead son smile at her and walk away, and the movie depicts Hamlet in the play encountering and speaking with the ghost of his murdered father, movie has some light feminist elements in its female portrayals, though the main people in the movie all have careers and businesses;
No foul language;
Two intense birthing scenes, father and his young son use sticks to pretend to do swordfights like the ones appearing in the plays he writes, the Plague strikes the youngest daughter, and her twin brother prays that he be taken instead, and he’s the one who dies, Shakespeare’s father slaps him in one scene, and Shakespeare gets angry and shoves his father against the wall to tell him never to do that again, and the movie enacts the final scene from the play HAMLET where people accidentally die, and Hamlet kills his murderous uncle whose evil plot has killed Hamlet and Hamlet’s mother, and the audience is greatly moved by Hamlet’s death on the stage;
Partially depicted fornication between an informally engaged couple (they are fully clothed but Shakespeare has unloosened his belt and pants), which results in a pregnancy;
Brief upper male nudity;
No alcohol use;
No smoking or drugs; and,
Shakespeare’s father is abusive, but Shakespear finally rebukes him in one scene, and Shakespeare and his wife become estranged because he’s away in London for long periods of time (new research has found this is not totally true), and when their young son dies at 11, but they are reconciled at the end.
More Detail:
HAMNET begins by saying that the names Hamnet and Hamlet were considered interchangeable during Will Shakespeare’s life. Hamlet begins with Will meeting Agnes, a herbalist and healer who also has a reputation for having a “sixth-sense.” Will and Agnes* fall in love (in real life he was 18 and she was 26, but the actor playing Will looks older than 18). However, they don’t think her brother will bless marriage. So, they consummate their informal engagement so that her brother has no choice.
Agnes has a baby, Susanna. Then, Will travels to London to pursue a career. He thinks about selling the gloves that his abusive father makes. However, he has talent for writing, and he starts a career as a playwright and theatrical manager. Shortly thereafter, Agnes has twins, a boy named Hamnet, and a girl named Judith.
Of course, as nearly everyone knows, Will’s career turns out to be one of the most successful careers ever. However, he must spend lots of time away from his family. Thus puts a strain on his marriage, but Will clearly loves his wife and their three children when he returns.
Sadly, tragedy strikes. Judith gets the Plague, but Hamnet prays that he be taken instead of his sister, and he dies, but Judith lives. Hamnet’s death really puts Agnes and Will’s marriage to the test. Can they find a way to lessen their grief and reconcile?
Based on an acclaimed novel, HAMNET unfolds a bit slowly, but it contains several touching, loving moments between Shakespeare and his family. The tragedy of Hamnet’s death is devastating, but it’s depicted as act of sacrifice because the boy offers his life in exchange for his sister’s. Jessie Buckley gives a superb performance as Shakespeare’s wife. Also, the scene where she and Paul Mescal as Will Shakespeare heal their grief through Will’s writing is wonderful. Kudos also go to Jacobi Jupe and his brother, Noah, who plays Hamnet and Hamlet, respectively.
HAMNET is a tale of love, loss, grief, and reconciliation. Ultimately, the movie says that honoring the memory of loved ones who have passed away is a good way to heal our grief, or at least to find some light in the darkness. Thus, at the end, the wife’s anger at her husband turns to wonder and love, and this transformation is visually depicted in a wonderful way. The movie also promotes the idea of sacrifice in a powerful way.
That said, HAMNET includes a brief scene where Will and Agnes consummate their informal engagement. The pregnancy moves Agnes’ brother to consent to their marriage. The movie also has two birthing scenes, scenes of illness resulting in death and other less vivid violence. Finally, Shakespeare’s wife has an occult-like “sixth sense”, and she sees the spirit of her dead son smiling at her when her grief is finally healed. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.
* Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, but Anne’s father reportedly spelled her name Agnes in legal documents.
