Hamnet

"To be, or not to be, that is the question." Such a beautifully made movie. There was so much hidden symbolism that connected to Hamnet and his death. Back in the senior year of high school, we read the play of Hamlet, for some reason, which stuck so much with me, and really pushed me to pursue psychology as a major in college. My teacher had given us the option to choose from multiple projects based on the play, and I decided to write a thesis on the psychological perspective of Hamlet. While some may argue that we aren't fully sure if Shakespeare ever intended to write Hamlet as his own form of grief after the passing of his son Hamnet. One of the biggest themes in Hamlet is about grief and the stages of it. Shakespeare seems so progressive with his writing, I do not doubt in my mind that Hamlet was his way of outletting his emotions, and grief over his son's passing away.  There was so much beauty in this film that words cannot do any of it justice. Will is struggling between the grief of his son and the relationship with his wife, Agnes, and he begins to contemplate suicide, the very famous words, "To be, or not to be, that is the question," and then we see him opening up his play, Hamlet. The wardrobe in this movie was extraordinary. Agnes wore mostly red, and when Hamnet passed away, she began to wear less colorful clothing to emphasize her grief. When she sees the play of Hamlet, we see her wearing the same clothes at the time of Hamnet's death. Almost as a way to memorialize him.  There is so much to digest, and I don't know if I have the emotional strength to continue this review. But grief is such a complex emotion that can be handled so differently by everyone. I have handled grief myself; it is a challenging process, and something that needs to be handled delicately. Everything was beautiful about this movie. I could not stop crying in the car after I got out of the theater. I held my tears back so much throughout the movie. I'm an extremely emotional person, and could just feel the emotions throughout this film, and now, writing this review, reflecting on it, I still cannot stop my tears. Anyone could handle this film differently, but I feel so deeply for this movie.