Hamnet

[LlynTegid]

Hoping to see it at the weekend, Jessie Buckley has been excellent in anything of hers I have seen.

Will be interested in other's thoughts once they have seen it.

Agree. There seemed to be lots of ideas never fully realised and the time dragged. The Globe scenes annoyed me, the punters were too well behaved and I’ve seen enough Hamlet to not-need to see the ending(or the part they showed of it) again. I would have preferred it to explore the differing concepts of death and the afterlife, revisiting her mysticism and non Christian views from Greek myths for example, than an absolute definition of Hamlet as the outlet for his grief. It will undoubtedly delight an American audience with the artsy cinematography and twee depiction of Shakespeare’s England.

I saw it last night and I thought Jessie Buckley was great in the role to be honest I've never seen her in anything before and would definitely seek out her other films.

Paul Mescal was fine. The kids were really good.

I thought when they got to the Globe she kept saying "that's Will as the ghost" I definitely heard "William Shakespeare" a couple of times as well.

It was fine it was not massively exciting but I certainly enjoyed it

I saw it last night. It is one of the most beautiful and horrifying things I have ever watched. I cried for an hour and a half straight.

When they arrive in London, Bartholomew says they're looking for William Shakespeare.

Jessie Buckley looks like she’s just been through the rapture, so I have my reservations about the film. Also found the book hard to get into but enjoyed it in the end so will have to see!

I stand corrected regarding saying William's name in the film then.

Here's another review that's not particularly kind...hope they don't put people off going to find out for themselves.

I think trying to cram so much into 2hrs was always going to be difficult.

Independent Review

I don't know much about Shakespeare, Hamnet, or his other plays. So I didn't find the references or time lines irksome as I knew no better (ignorance is indeed bliss sometimes!).

I was also right with Agnes at the end - wondering what the hell was going on on stage?! I didn't understand much of what was being said at all (I'm not well educated/particularlyintelligent) so had the light bulb moment alongside Agnes/Jessie Buckley. That's why I was crying - it was beautiful that Hamnet's dad was able to process his grief through his art. Give Hamnet a more dignified end (after he'd won the sword fight, like he wanted), and the funeral he deserved - with hundreds of people sharing their grief. You could tell it was then that Agnes began to understand and perhaps start to forgive her husband and his seemingly cold and distant ways. The way we all process the loss of a loved one differently, and that there's often no right or wrong.

I'd watch it again for sure.

I part read/part listened to the book and I would use words like quiet, dreamy, sad, thinking about it. I haven't been to see it yet but I am not expecting big excitement.

I lost track of the number of “parts” , was it a five act tragedy?

I echo what a lot of PP have said.
Beautifully & skillfully art directed, directed & acted film.
But the actual story is just a
bit boring beyond the tragedy.

DD and I have just come back from a lunchtime viewing.

Well we loved it. Both agreed that it is one the best films we have ever seen. It was powerful and emotional, we both cried, a lot. We were fully immersed in the film. Neither of us had read the book, but we felt the multi generational loss deeply, and it explored different types of grief and how they are handled very well.

The acting and cinematography was sublime.

DD has no issues with how Anne was portrayed, and she is an historian with particular interests in historical women and modern reception.

It’s interesting how Marmite this film seems to be!

I sobbed at the book and shed a few tears at the film. That look of disbelief in JB’s eyes just as he dies was excellent.
But my overall impression of the film was a lot of groaning and how dark houses were in those times!

One of the scenes which has stayed with me (I saw it on the weekend) was when Jessie/Agnes was crying to Will and repeating "I tried everything!". Just like any mother would do; try everything. The sense of guilt that she'd failed really came through I felt. Think I cried more at the twin birth scene and that one, than when he died. Shed a few more tears at the end, too (love Max Richter, mind).

I think the film has appealed to lots of book groups and groups of women who'd read the book, so it feels like just a lovely way to get together and feel all the feelings collectively (but I'm a massive sap!).

I adored every second and immediately wanted to watch it again.

The only things I might question were the use of “Ok” and “Amazing!” They seemed a bit anachronistic.

I cried at the end, when Agnes sees the woman next to her crying at the death of Hamlet and realises that William has made sure their son has touched so many lives; as it turned out, he granted his son immortality.

Loved it.

It struck me very much as Elizabeth Woodville/White Queen meets drama rather than the throne.

It was alright. Had it been on the TV, I'd have had a pee without pausing it and would have scrolled too much MNet throughout it.

Not the best £25 ever spent but I did stay awake.

Haven’t seen the film (sorry) but one of these posts has reminded me of one of the things I loved about the book: the reframing of William’s famous bequest to his wife of ‘the second best bed’. All my life that’s been interpreted as a cheap shot at his boring old wife, and the book totally flipped it. I thought it was a deeply pro-woman book.

I was taught that it was NOT a cheap shot at his wife but was a loving gesture.

Mine might be an out-of-date perception @Womaninhouse17 - I was taught it by my mother (lecturer in English Literature) who went to uni in the 1950s!

Yes. I think I was taught that it used to be thought to be a cheap shot but they'd changed their view.

Didn''t like the book - I thought it was performative 'fine writing.' 'If this doesn't get me the Booker, nothing will...'

The film was a bit better largely because of Jessie Buckley.

But how did she manage to give birth without the emission of any bodily fluids on the bed or on her nightgown, to dry babies with just a sprinkle of tasteful gunk, and no apparent expectation by anyone of placentas or (bafflingly) cervical cords?

Same. And I did whisper to my mum at that point "oh, I didn't realise they hadn't invented umbilical cords yet!"

Overall i thought it was beautiful. I quite like films where not much happens. And I haven't read the book.

Exactly. A little spatter of white stuff on the clean, unbloodied baby's head and no other mess at all. Not believable.

I just got back from seeing it. I did enjoy it but didn’t cry. Cried more at the book. I think they missed so much out that I can imagine it may seem quite superficial and underdeveloped to those who haven’t read the book.

I enjoyed the book, and the film, although it was fairly harrowing. The modern touches jarred - use of okay and yeah - just didn’t sit well with me. Plus I think people will take the story as a factual retelling of the family, rather than a fictionalization around some known facts.

But I thought Jessie Buckley was mesmerizing, and I liked that the house looked very accurate (to my memories of Stratford visits). I loved Paul Mescal in Normal People, but find he’s got a little thespian-y. The children were very good (and I think the actor playing Hamlet was actually the brother of the actor playing Hamnet?)

• Role Context: In the film, Noah Jupe plays a young actor in Shakespeare's company who takes on the role of Hamlet, bearing a striking resemblance to Hamnet (played by Jacobi Jupe), the son of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and Agnes (Jessie Buckley).
• Significance: The casting of Noah Jupe as the stage Hamlet serves as a poignant, artistic, and thematic connection in the film, representing who Hamnet might have become.
• Real-life Detail: Noah Jupe is the older brother of Jacobi Jupe, who plays the titular role of Hamnet in the film.

Oooh interesting thanks @emmastone