Hamnet

*That's my boy. That's my boy.* *2025 Russell Hobbs British Film Festival at Palace Barracks * On the topic of the cinemagoing experience, Australian national icon Nicole Kidman once remarked that "somehow, heartbreak feels good in a place like this." I'm inclined to agree. What an unbelievable stunner of a film. I've historically not been a fan of the work I've seen from Chloe Zhao, as I wasn't very taken by her work on Marvel's Eternals or the Best Picture and Best Director winning Nomadland, but this absolutely wrecked me. There's a good 15 or so minutes where Zhao wants you to feel nothing but brutal heartbreak, and I don't think there was one dry eye in the cinema. Just thinking about that part of the film nearly brought me to tears again at the Barracks Coles and twice on the walk to the train station! I even let a tear out near the bus stop! Jessie Buckley has always been one of our finest actors, but she truly breaks new ground here. You better get that acceptance speech ready. Paul Mescal is as fantastic as he usually is, with one absolutely gutwrenching line delivery that brought me to instant tears. The highlight performance for me may have been Jacobi Jupe in the titular role. He barely looks over the age of 10, yet he shows such a complete range of emotion and instantly shines on screen. I've never seen an actor of that age that good. I'd say his performance is one of the crucial elements that made this film so spectacular. I do appreciate that of the many Greek myths Hamnet could've pulled from, they pulled the only one that I know anything about in the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice (I'm sorry, I can't help being a musical theatre guy, it's like a disease that never goes away). William telling Agnes about that story is the first time she sees the power and catharsis of storytelling, and it clearly affects her deeply with the way she asks William to "look at me" multiple times in the film. We see many empty doorways that serve as allusions to the exit of the Underworld, where Orpheus turns around to look at Eurydice, condemning them both. In this film, however, Agnes is the one who calls on William to look at her. The ultimate subversion of the myth makes the ending feel that much more earned, and the moment William turns around during the play is so tender and beautiful.