Hamnet (film)

Hamnet is a 2025 film in which Agnes and William Shakespeare grapple with grief in 16th-century England after losing their son Hamnet to the plague. A healer, Agnes must find strength to care for her surviving children while processing her devastating loss. Directed by Chloé Zhao. Written by Chloé Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell, based on O'Farrell's 2020 novel. Agnes Shakespeare He loves me for what I am, not what I ought to be. He's got more inside of him than any man I've ever met. Will Shakespeare To be... or not to be... that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to... suffer the slings and arrows of... outrageous fortune... or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing... end them. Mary Shakespeare Your mother's trying to... keep a grip on her child. It won't work. What is given may be taken away at any time. We must never let our guard down. Never take for granted... that our children's hearts beat, that they draw breath, that they walk and speak and... smile, argue, play. Never forget for a moment that they may be gone. Dialogue Will: Is it true, you know everything about a person, by touching them here? [Touches Agnes's hand] Agnes: Not everything. Bartholomew: To live with our hearts open. Agnes, Bartholomew: To shut it not in the dark but to turn it to the sun. Will: Do you know the story of Orpheus and Eurydice? Orpheus is a man of music. He has this exquisite voice. His playing of the kithara, which is a... is-is a harp-like lyre, is so divine, birds, the... the beasts, e-even the stones and the trees, they all moved to the rhythm of his music. Now, Orpheus falls in love with this beautiful nymph, Eurydice. Soon after their marriage, Eurydice's bitten by a viper and poison courses through her body, and she's killed. And Orpheus, filled with grief, journeys to the underworld to take her back. He charms this three-headed dog, Cerberus. He beguiles Hades until finally... he's allowed to take his love back with him to the world of the living but... under one condition. Agnes: What is it? Will: She must follow behind him, and he must not turn around to look at her. Now, as they begin their ascent, Orpheus can't hear her footsteps, so he listens... and listens and listens and listens. But all he can hear is the sound of his heartbeat. And the rest is silence. And as he approaches the gates of the underworld... he can't contain himself any longer. He turns around to look at her, and she is... trapped in the underworld forever. Cast Jessie Buckley - Agnes Shakespeare Faith Delaney - young Agnes Paul Mescal - William Shakespeare Emily Watson - Mary Shakespeare Joe Alwyn - Bartholomew Hathaway Smylie Bradwell - young Bartholomew Jacobi Jupe - Hamnet Shakespeare Olivia Lynes - Judith Shakespeare Justine Mitchell - Joan Hathaway David Wilmot - John Shakespeare Bodhi Rae Breathnach - Susanna Shakespeare Freya Hannan-Mills - Eliza Shakespeare James Skinner - Gilbert Shakespeare Elliot Baxter - Richard Shakespeare Dainton Anderson - Edmond Shakespeare Louisa Harland - Rowan Hathaway Noah Jupe - the actor who plays Hamlet in Hamlet Raphael Goold - the actor who plays Horatio in Hamlet Shaun Mason - the actor who plays Claudius in Hamlet Matthew Tennyson - the actor who plays Gertrude in Hamlet El Simons - the actor who plays Ophelia in Hamlet Clay Milner Russell - the actor who plays Laertes in Hamlet Sam Woolf - the actor who plays Bernardo in Hamlet Hera Gibson - the actor who plays Francisco in Hamlet Jack Shalloo - the actor who plays Marcellus in Hamlet Javier Marzan - the actor who plays The Fool in Hamlet External links 14905854 hamnet Hamnet Hamnet Category:2025 films Category:British drama films Category:Historical films Category:Films about grieving Category:Films about marriage Category:Films about mother–son relationships Category:Films about mother–daughter relationships Category:Films based on novels Category:Films set in England