Hamnet

The parallels in this killed me. The way he wrote the play so the father could say goodbye to the son. The imagined hawk in the sky after the real one died and the actor who plays Hamlet after their son (Hamnet) dies. The painted forest before Hamnet enters the afterlife and the painted forest of the play set. The wondering of whether it was the boy’s dream realized or his father’s. The dark hole in the forest and the dark opening in the play set. The hands. Always the hands. Orpheus and Eurydice. (“Look at me. Look at me.”) The question of if he will turn around. If he will lose her; their underworld being the death of their child with William finding art through his grief. Also, the way the cinematography focuses on framing the characters in arches & doorways as if they are portals between the land of the living & the dead. Agnes' plea at the end for her husband to look at her combined with the fact that it's often said that an Orpheus who never looks back is an Orpheus who never loved Eurydice. Both protagonists try to prevent a death of a loved one (Eurydice & Hamnet) but ultimately fail. “I see you. Grown. And very strong. And I see you in London. Working with your father.” “In the theatre?” “At the playhouse.” “What will I be doing?” “What you always used to do, Hamnet.” I have heard the famous phrase, “to be or not to be? That is the question” a thousand times and even read Hamlet for school, but watching Paul Mescal say it while standing over that water made me truly realize what it meant for the first time. This is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. If it doesn’t win at least three Oscars, everything is rigged. Also, adding On the Nature of Daylight as the closing song took me out. I will never recover from this. Ever.