Hamnet

London Film Festival Film #16

I just have to talk about the experience I had watching this because, oh my goodness. I was lucky enough to get a ticket to the UK premiere of Hamnet and it was a sensational way to watch this film. To be in a room with 2,000 other people, primed and ready to be emotionally invested in a very primal, naturalistic portrayal of grief was something that I imagine will rarely be replicated.

On top of that, I got to see Steven Spielberg in the flesh!!! Which I still struggle to comprehend. He gave a lovely speech about Chloe Zhao, who then led us all through a meditation before the movie and I think it was such a profound and vital addition to me enjoying the film as much as I did. Really centering yourself and allowing you to be in touch with the frequency the movie was operating on from the get-go, I think was super beneficial.

What proceeded that was one of the most gorgeous displays of humanity I've seen onscreen. It is very hard to do realism, hyper-realism really, and very naturalistic scenarios right but almost immediately, this film made you feel like you were part of this world.

I could put this down to so many elements of the movie. I think every department here is operating on just another level. It is gorgeously realised by Łukasz Żal, who cements himself further as one of my favourite modern-day cinematographers. It's composed to perfection by Max Richter. It is so beautifully coloured and composed, this world feels real. The editing is so unnoticeable, it makes you feel like you're living amongst this family. But truly, this is a film that's acting and performance, and none more so than the incomparable Jesse Buckley.

This is her movie. She is absolutely outstanding. The modes in which she has to operate in here are really extreme, but never did it feel like she was putting on a performance; it felt so real. Obviously, she will get a lot of credit for the larger-than-life moments, the screaming, the unbearable weight of her grief, but I think it's in her quiet moments that she truly shines. 

And then the film wouldn't work half as well as it does if it weren't for the family in the beginning of the movie, feeling as real as it does. I find myself tearing up at those joyous scenes of family just as much as I was the more devastating parts. This comes down to their family dynamic just feeling so authentic. It truly just felt like you were witnessing, like, home movies from that period of time, which is so special. And her emotional resolution towards the end is something I'll be thinking about for a very long time.

It's not only her; there are a plethora of great performances here. Paul Mescal is good; I think once he eases into the role of Shakespeare as time goes on, he becomes far more of a standout. It's truly the child performances around Buckley, though, that stand out. Both of the Jupe brothers are absolutely phenomenal here. Jacobi Jupe sells the absolute hell out of the performance, makes you fall in love with him, and makes the situation all the more devastating. And Noah, I have to give a heap ton of credit to because this is perhaps the most I've ever enjoyed Shakespeare.

This film certainly feels like a constant emotional rise to the point of the story, which you know is going to happen. This is more so an observation and less a criticism, but it does feel slightly emotionally manipulative up until that point. In the way things are shot, in how the characters speak. And particularly in the utilisation of music in these scenes. I do need to rewatch it to see how I feel about them perhaps playing on the audience’s knowledge to provoke emotional reaction prior to the emotional turning point of the film happening.

I do love how much this feels like a Chloe Zhao movie though. Her signature style is written all over the film. Especially hearing her talk prior to the movie. You can see the stamp she left in this story. The ethereal qualities that the movie possesses, the naturalistic ways that she shot, and the very human way that she crafts characters. The best word that I can use to describe this movie is just incredibly human. It feels so real. It's so delicate and tender and explores the healing powers of nature and people in the context of nature.

The film begins to mount and mount, and it feels like it is all heading towards this emotional resolution, this climax at the end of the movie. Hats off to both Zhao and O’Farrell for managing to write something so poignant that does feel like this emotional payoff but also feels like a release not only for the characters in the movie but for the journey. You've been on throughout the entire film. A truly gorgeous film that had me weeping