Hamnet

absolutely stellar performances from everyone involved but especially jessie buckley. i’ve never been a mother but i feel like it’s an experience that all women can relate to regardless. you definitely need to have a little bit of background knowledge before watching this so i was super thankful that i read hamlet in high school. it was also super cool knowing that not much is known about the real life events. that someone could create such a raw and timeless story using the small amount of knowledge we have about the real events as a foundation is so awe inspiring to me. i love being reminded of human experiences that transcend time and place and how we’re all the same at the end of the day. also loved how this movie stayed true to the time period it’s set in while also showing that there have always been progressives/people who believe in a better world. and ultimately progressivism wouldn’t have looked the same in the 16th century as it does now because it takes time and effort for radical ideas to become normalized. the world changes all the time but but the human experience will always stay exactly the same at its core. i had a hard time connecting paul mescal’s shakespeare with the real life shakespeare because they don’t look alike but part of me feels like that was done on purpose especially because the character’s name wasn’t revealed until the movie was almost over. the shots of shakespeare breaking down in private interspersed throughout hamlet’s soliloquy was a genius way of showing that we were actually listening to shakespeare’s own thoughts. this is the longest review i’ve ever written but this was just so good and fed the history nerd in me. points for flipping the manic pixie dream girl trope too.