Critics Are Praising Paul Mescal In Hamnet, But It’s Jessie Buckley Who They Can’t Stop Talking About: ‘The Performance Of The Year’

by

I’m already hearing so much about the 2025 awards season, and even before it came out, Hamnet was being talked about as a serious contender! It’s amazing – the movie, based on the book about Shakespeare’s family, just had a wide release this Friday, December 12th, and it’s already landed six Golden Globe nominations! Seriously, what’s got everyone so excited? I’m diving into what the critics are saying to find out.

This film is a reimagining of the lives of William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, after the tragic loss of their 11-year-old son. Directed by Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao and starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley, it’s based on the novel Hamnet and is deeply moving audiences. Moira Macdonald of the Seattle Times gave the film a perfect score, praising its beautiful depiction of how grief can inspire creativity.

Everyone grieves in their own way, and the film reveals how William copes with loss near the end: not by moving forward with life, which he can’t quite do, but through creating art, allowing him to keep the memory of his son alive. The final scenes of Hamnet are truly beautiful and arguably the most emotionally impactful thing I’ve seen on film this year. Agnes, radiating love, seems to reach through an ethereal barrier, and you’re left with the strong feeling that her son is reaching back.

Viewers are praising Jessie Buckley’s performance in the film, with many calling it the best part. NPR’s Justin Chang describes her character as the emotional center of the movie and calls Buckley herself “extraordinary.” He adds:

As a film lover, I was completely blown away by Jessie Buckley’s performance in Hamnet. It’s just raw, elemental emotion. When her character, Agnes, experiences the pain of childbirth or the devastating loss of her son, she doesn’t just act sad – she howls with grief, and it feels so incredibly real. There are moments where it doesn’t even feel like acting anymore; she truly becomes Agnes, embodying this earthy, mystical woman and her overwhelming love and despair. Honestly, she’s the heart of the film, and it’s her performance that makes the climax – when the connection between Hamnet’s life, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and the play’s creation finally comes together – so deeply moving.

In a review for the Boston Globe, Odie Henderson notes that Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet may be a difficult watch for some, as he observed eight people leaving during his screening—a sentiment echoed by other critics. He found Jessie Buckley’s portrayal of Agnes’s grief, including a particularly powerful scream, to be authentically moving, and gave the film a perfect 4-star rating.

Okay, so Paul Mescal is great as always, but his role felt pretty standard. Honestly, this movie is a total showcase for Jessie Buckley – she absolutely kills it. And the way Łukasz Żal shot it? Stunning. Buckley really makes you believe in her connection to nature, which is where she finds peace. Look, ‘Hamnet’ isn’t a movie you’ll just forget. It really gets under your skin – I was both deeply moved and genuinely disturbed, and I loved all of it. It’s one of those films that sticks with you, you know? Like Hamlet says… well, it leaves you speechless.

Christy Lemire, a film critic and mother, expected to be deeply moved by Jessie Buckley’s performance after hearing praise from others. However, she found the acting to be overly dramatic rather than genuinely affecting. Despite this, she acknowledged the film’s overall quality and gave it a rating of 2.5 out of 4 stars.

Buckley and Mescal deliver intensely emotional performances, portraying grief with raw, almost overwhelming displays. While the film dwells on their pain, it sometimes feels intrusive. Losing a child is unimaginable, and Hamnet depicts this tragedy with such dramatic flair that it can feel distancing rather than deeply affecting.

Peter Travers, writing for Travers Take, notes he’d heard the film described as “grief porn” before watching it. While acknowledging Hamnet is deeply devastating, he calls it one of the year’s best and most emotionally powerful films. He particularly highlights a captivating final scene featuring the character Agnes, stating it’s impossible to look away.

Chloé Zhao, the Oscar-winning director of Nomadland who co-wrote the script with Patrick O’Farrell, begins by highlighting Shakespeare’s wife, offering a female-centered view that positions Shakespeare as a secondary character. This creative choice is brilliantly matched by the casting of Jessie Buckley as Agnes (Anne) Hathaway. Buckley delivers a powerhouse performance – raw, rebellious, and unforgettable – portraying Agnes with the passionate intensity Shakespeare himself once described as ‘a mad blood stirring.’

TopMob is hearing great things about the film Hamnet, though it’s emotionally intense for some viewers. It currently has an 86% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with 92% audience approval. If you haven’t seen it yet and are interested in potential awards season contenders, Chloé Zhao’s latest movie will be widely released on December 12th.

Read More

2025-12-09 18:49