The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has always been a stage for cinematic debuts that spark conversation, but few films this year have generated as much anticipation—and emotion—as "Hamnet." Directed by Academy Award-winner Chloé Zhao, the film adapts Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel, weaving a tale of love, loss, and artistic legacy rooted in the Shakespearean era. The world premiere took place in early September 2025, drawing not just festival regulars but also a star-studded cast and crew, instantly thrusting "Hamnet" into the heart of awards season chatter.
At its core, "Hamnet" explores the brief life and tragic death of William Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, whose passing is widely believed to have inspired the playwright’s most famous tragedy, Hamlet. But rather than offering a straightforward biopic or a simple retelling of historical events, Zhao and her team deliver a story that is at once intimate and universal, poetic and raw.
Paul Mescal, known for his emotionally charged performances in films like Aftersun and All of Us Strangers, steps into the role of William Shakespeare. Jessie Buckley, fresh off her acclaimed turns in The Lost Daughter and Wild Rose, portrays Agnes (also known historically as Anne Hathaway), Shakespeare’s wife. The film’s focus on Agnes, as imagined through O’Farrell’s lens, places her at the narrative’s heart. She is depicted as a woman steeped in nature, attuned to the woods around her, and gifted—or perhaps burdened—with premonitions that foreshadow the family’s coming tragedy.
“I was just so curious to see what somebody with her kind of genius around filmmaking would do with a story that’s so quintessentially British,” Mescal told Reuters at TIFF on September 7, 2025. His curiosity was echoed by many in attendance, eager to see how Zhao—celebrated for the earthy lyricism of Nomadland—would handle such iconic material.
The film’s ensemble is nothing short of extraordinary. Alongside Mescal and Buckley, the cast features Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, and the Jupe brothers: Jacobi Jupe as the young Hamnet and Noah Jupe as the onstage Hamlet in a climactic sequence. The chemistry between Mescal and Buckley is palpable, especially in the film’s early scenes of courtship, where their characters’ youthful passion and impulsiveness are rendered with a violent, almost desperate intensity. As the story progresses, the marriage between Will and Agnes is tested by distance, creative ambition, and, most painfully, grief.
Agnes, as played by Buckley, is a force of nature—literally and figuratively. She scoffs at rumors of witchcraft, yet her affinity for the wild (complete with red robes and a pet hawk) and her prophetic visions set her apart. Her sense that one of her children will die before her hangs over the family like a shadow, adding tension to every scene with her children, especially Hamnet. Jacobi Jupe’s portrayal of the 11-year-old Hamnet is a revelation. He brings an authenticity to the role that sidesteps the usual pitfalls of child actors in period dramas—never precocious, never otherworldly, but instead a real, playful, and earnest boy. His bond with his twin sister Judith, and his dreams of the stage, make his fate all the more heartbreaking.
The creative team behind the camera is as impressive as the cast in front of it. Producers Liza Marshall, Nicolas Gonda, Pippa Harris, Sam Mendes, and Steven Spielberg all contributed to bringing Zhao’s vision to life. Costume designer Malgosia Turzanska’s meticulous attention to period detail grounds the film in its historical moment, while the screenplay, co-written by Zhao and O’Farrell, captures both the poetry and the pain of the source material.
One of the film’s most powerful sequences comes as the plague strikes the Shakespeare household. In a moment both eerie and tender, Hamnet climbs into his twin’s cot to comfort her, whispering of an ominous presence watching over them—a hint, perhaps, that he shares his mother’s gift for premonition. When tragedy finally strikes, the pain is palpable. Mescal’s performance as Will, especially in the scene where he returns home expecting to find his daughter dead only to discover it is his son who has passed, is devastating. “Where is he?” he asks, his voice quavering with dread, hope, and disbelief—a moment that, as Mashable described, could bring down the Globe Theatre for its sheer emotional weight.
Buckley’s Agnes is left to navigate her grief largely alone, her husband consumed by his own mourning in distant London. The film makes clear that the creation of Hamlet is not just an act of artistic genius but also a means for Shakespeare to process his guilt and sorrow. The famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy is reimagined here not as a performance by Hamlet, but as Shakespeare himself wrestling with mortality and meaning—a layered, profound meditation on the limits of art in the face of loss.
The film’s climax brings Agnes and Will’s pain to the stage of the Globe Theatre, blurring the lines between life and art. Noah Jupe’s portrayal of Hamlet, echoing his younger brother’s performance as Hamnet, adds a haunting resonance to the play within the film. It’s a shrewd casting choice by Zhao, deepening the emotional impact and underscoring the story’s themes of memory and legacy.
Not everything in "Hamnet" is perfect, at least according to some critics. As Mashable’s Kristy Puchko noted, Zhao’s restraint in depicting Agnes’s premonitions—choosing to describe them in dialogue rather than visualizing them onscreen—sometimes keeps the audience at a distance from Agnes’s inner world. By contrast, Shakespeare’s grief is given full visual expression in the play’s climactic production. Still, this choice is in keeping with Zhao’s signature style, which favors subtlety and earthiness over melodrama.
What emerges is a film that defies the conventions of the typical awards-season biopic. There are no glossy Hollywood tears or overwrought theatrics here. Instead, "Hamnet" is a bold, unconventional meditation on grief, resilience, and the transformative power of art. It stands as a moving tribute not only to Shakespeare’s legacy but also to the women and children whose stories are often lost to history. As festival audiences and critics alike have noted, "Hamnet" could well be a strong contender for major awards this season.
For those seeking a drama that lingers long after the credits roll, "Hamnet" is a must-see. The film opens in theaters on December 12, 2025, and if early buzz is any indication, viewers should come prepared—this is a story that will leave you both tear-soaked and in awe.
