Before there was Hamlet, there was Hamnet. Chloé Zhao, the Oscar-winning director of Nomadland, adapts Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel, which she co-wrote for the screen with O’Farrell herself. Jessie Buckley plays Agnes, a free-spirited healer, and Paul Mescal is a young, ambitious playwright named William Shakespeare. When tragedy strikes their family with the death of their young son, their bond is tested in ways that would eventually inspire one of the greatest plays ever written.
With Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, and Jacobi Jupe in the cast, a score by Max Richter, and Steven Spielberg as an executive producer, this one swept the 2026 awards season. It earned eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, and Jessie Buckley won Best Actress. But does the film live up to the buzz, and does it earn every tear? I’m getting into Buckley and Mescal’s performances, Zhao’s filmmaking, and some surprises from the film.
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Now Streaming on Netflix | Runtime: 2hr 5min | Dir. Chloé Zhao | Focus Features | Premiered Telluride 2025 | 8 Oscar Nominations, 1 Win
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