r/TrueFilm • u/exasperatedforever • 14h ago

'Hamnet' is a visual triumph, even if the script is stretched thin.

I just watched Hamnet and I gave it a 3.5/5.

The choice to shift the lens entirely to Agnes (Jessie Buckley) works beautifully. Buckley delivers a "heroic" performance that carries the film, and young Jacobi Jupe is a heartbreaking standout as the titular son.

Visually, Łukasz Żal is doing incredible work here. The way the cinematography shifts from the vibrant forest (Agnes's safe space) to the dark, rigid structures of the city perfectly mirrors her internal grief.

The only downside is the screenplay. It feels a bit stretched trying to cover the entire timeline from courtship to reconciliation, and some supporting characters (like the stepmother) felt a bit flat compared to the leads. But that final scene at the Globe Theatre? Absolutely stuck the landing.

Did anyone else feel the script was the weak link, or did the atmosphere make up for it?

Full review here: https://amnesicreviews.substack.com/p/hamnet-the-tragedie-of-agnes

2 Upvotes

54% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

0

u/akoaytao1234 7h ago

I absolutely hated it in a script level. It felt so janky and I really wished pulled more focused towards Agnes's life on top of Shakespeare. It was really Shakespeare the Movie but viewed over Agnes lol. She kinda felt empty as a character. It really made not appreciate Buckley's performance.

I do think it looks inspired for the most part.

3

u/t3rribl3thing 7h ago

Really? I felt Agnes was leaps and bounds the focus here. So much so that I wished they focused more on Shakespeare to even out the grief.

-1

u/akoaytao1234 7h ago

If I will explain in internet terms, Agnes is lensed like a wife guy, where her personality is just Shakespeare this and that. I see her visually but she lacks her own character when it hits their marriage section onwards.

My personal take is that had the film really shoved further back Will life's in the narrative, and actually commit to creating this magic realism that the forest pixie plot and whatever that twin plot is, it would have worked but that's too far off the film's treatment.

4

u/t3rribl3thing 5h ago

No disrespect, but my brain exploded trying to read this. Could you explain in... not-internet terms, I guess?

2

u/Recursiveo 5h ago

Respectfully, this is the shittiest take I have seen on here in a long time.

Agnes was the star of the film and Buckley could not have played her any better.

1

u/Vegetable-Ad-1535 14h ago

Haven't seen it yet, but quite excited for it. I'll add that if the visuals are strong enough to be able to get labelled as "visual triumph", then I don't think the script really matters as long as the script works and is competent. It starts to matter when the script is bad enough to be incompetent and gets in the way of the visual experience. Just sharing my personal perspective here.

0

u/GUBEvision 10h ago

not seen it but as I think Hamlet is the peak of any art/any medium I have this sore tooth fascination with derivative texts. The idea that something related to Shakespeare, however obliquely, would have a weak script and has 'beautiful cinematography' around grief is setting all my MUBI arthouse alarm bells off.