Hamnet
Four days into 2025 and I may have already seen my film of the year. There are moments where you walk into a movie and immediately sense that you've just paid money to see something destined to fade from memory...this is not it. Hamnet, based on Maggie O'Farrell's critically acclaimed novel, presents the life of Agnes, William Shakespeare's wife, yet resists the urge to be a conventional biopic. Instead, we experience a meditation on love, loss and the fragile beauty of life.
Contrasting between the colourful Earth in the beginning and the sad inevitability of its later tragedy, Chloe Zhao, a highly decorated Oscar winner, might have outdone herself on Hamnet. The display of grief and tragedy does not leave anyone untouched, even after the credits roll in the end, most of the audience is still in tears after a phenomenal finale. Jessie Buckley is extraordinary as Agnes, delivering an honest, emotionally raw performance that feels destined for this year's Oscar. Fantastically supported by Paul Mescal as an emotionally fragile Shakespeare and some of the most talented child actors I've seen in a while, this film lives up to all the expectations from the novel and stays with the audience long after you walk out of the movie theater. Beyond Hamnet's devastating story, every technical aspect excels as well, beautiful costumes in really detailed sets transform this film into an immersive, aesthetic historical world and Max Richter composes a truly fitting, alluring score.
2025 has delivered its first cinematic masterpiece.