Hamnet (2025, PG-13)

*Premise spoilers*

Completing all the films on my list, just under the wire, woohoo! Best Picture nominee #10 is a heartwrenching family drama centered around one of the most renowned playwrights in history, but the story it tells is very human and grounded, even within its literary and visual poetry.

Agnes is already pregnant with Will Shakespeare’s first child at the time of their marriage. The healer and the playwright—both have their own sort of magic to weave, but Will’s takes him far away from his growing young family in Stratford, off to the playhouses of London. When tragedy strikes, Agnes wrestles to carry on alone for the sake of her children, while Will pours his grief into his writing.

Hamnet received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Leading Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It’s based on a novel, which I hadn’t realized at the start.

When you’re talking movies about Shakespeare, you’re always going to be dealing more with historical fiction than biopic, just by virtue of the fact that so little is definitively known about his life. And since this movie centers even more on Agnes/Anne than on him, that goes double. As such, it’s not really helpful to wonder about the movie’s accuracy. Better to focus instead on the story it’s creating, the emotions it’s exploring. On that level, it’s quite masterful.

One thing I love is when period pieces emphasize that ultimately, throughout history, people have always been people. That quality is used to strong effect here. We see it in Will’s shy wooing of Agnes, fumbling and tongue-tied until he tells her a story. We see it when Agnes offers her children a folktale to comfort them through the loss of a beloved animal companion, when Will plays with the kids, when Agnes struggles to cope after Will leaves her to pick herself up after an immense sorrow. The emotions are human, so raw, so immediate. Which is fitting—because after all, so is Shakespeare.

I love the ways Hamlet is woven in here as an expression of Will’s pain. All the parallels are beautifully done, and the scenes the movie highlights are well chosen for their emotional impact. This passage is handled in such a way that it’s cathartic, not just for Will, but for Agnes as well. The whole final sequence is gorgeous—I was absolutely crying through most of it.

No shade to Paul Mescal, who I really liked in Aftersun a few years ago and who gives a lovely performance as Will, but this is Jessie Buckley’s movie. As Agnes, she’s grounded and otherworldly at the same time. A healer, a mother, a fierce fighter. She’s married to a genius who’s going to change the world, but it’s hard to think about that when she really needs him home. Stellar work! The actors playing the Shakespeares’ three children also turn in some very affecting work—Bodhi Rae Breathnach as Susanna, Olivia Lynes as Judith, and of course, Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet.

Warnings

Strong thematic elements (including the death of a child,) disturbing images, sexual content, violence (including an abusive parent,) and drinking.

Other Doctor Lives: Macbeth (2025)

I saw photos and fanart from this theatrical production when it was running, and I was so glad to hear it was given a proshot recording! I nabbed a free trial of Marquee TV so I could watch it (along with Richard II, also starring David Tennant!) While I wouldn’t quite put it up with the best Shakespeare recordings I’ve watched, it’s still pretty cool.

The Scottish thane Macbeth is accosted by three witches who promise him greatness beyond his wild imaginings. He doesn’t think much of it to begin with, but when part of their prophecy comes true, he starts to wonder about the ultimate prize they dangled before him: could he really become king? As Macbeth sets out to make the prophecy a reality, urged on by his ambitious wife, he realizes that the crown comes with a high cost.

First things first, this production just looks cool. It’s a very minimalist set, essentially a white square with stark lighting, which makes details like blood stand out even more. When members of the ensemble aren’t in a scene, they sit or stand along the edge of the stage and sometimes provide eerie effects. For example, rather than having the witches as three distinct characters, their dialogue is passed between the ensemble, so the witches’ whispers seem to come at Macbeth from everywhere.

I think this might be a tricky production to watch if you didn’t already know this story. I could be wrong, but I feel like those cool minimalist elements and more abstract staging could make it harder to follow what’s happening onstage. So I’d say it’s probably best enjoyed by those already familiar with the play.

I liked it quite a bit. It definitely highlights the spooky elements, with the characters sometimes speaking in haunting whispers. That makes more grounded moments, like Banquo talking with his son, stand out. The drunken porter is also a highlight, throwing in some crowd work with his dialogue—I laughed at, “Front row seats! Look at you, you must be loaded, eh? Give me your wallet.” Besides Tennant, the only familiar actor to me was Cush Jumbo, who I recently saw as June on Criminal Record. She plays Lady Macbeth with appropriate steeliness. I especially liked her “Infirm of purpose!”

And then, of course, we have David Tennant as Macbeth. Giving another shoutout to the aesthetics of the production, his costume looks really great! When this production was running, I saw multiple people online expressing gender envy over it, and that tracks—he looks fantastic.

It took me a little while to warm up to Tennant’s performance here. At the beginning, for my money, he leans a little too far into the suspense/creepy atmosphere at the expense of clarity. His early soliloquies come in ominous, somber half-whispers. To me, they feel a little more recited than spoken. But Tennant draws me in more as the play goes on, especially as Macbeth gets more desperate to hold onto what he’s gained. His “She should have died hereafter” is excellent, and I love his “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” speech.

Accent Watch

Scottish.

Recommend?

In General – I think so. Like I said, it’s not quite top-tier for me, but it’s a cool production with excellent design and a great spooky atmosphere.

David Tennant – Yeah. When he hits those high moments, he’s really, really good.

Warnings

Strong thematic elements (including child murder,) staged violence, drinking, and disturbing images.

Richard III (2023)

I caught the PBS recording of this Shakespeare in the Park production last year, but I didn’t get around to writing about it until now. Unfortunately, this is one that I think could’ve been better. Despite a compelling central performance and some interesting concepts, the production had a hard time sustaining my attention.

Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, is jealous of his brother King Edward IV and resentful of the brothers and nephews who block his own path to the throne. Through manipulation and murder, he schemes to seize the crown for himself.

Over the years, many an actor has adopted the trademark “hump and withered limb” look to play Richard, though some productions interpret his “deformity” in other ways. Here, Richard has no visible disability, but he’s the only Black member of his family, and there are enough references in the script to people being “fair” to highlight the contrast. Furthermore, with Danai Gurira as the lead, we see his toxic masculinity as portrayed by a woman.

Gurira’s casting was how the production caught my eye, and she’s definitely my favorite thing about it. Her Richard is very mercurial, by turns charming, conniving, and scheming. She’s great to watch and a really interesting take on the character.

I also like that, while Richard isn’t visibly disabled, numerous other members of the cast are, including Tony winner Ali Stroker as Lady Anne. It also includes a few Deaf cast members who perform in ASL, which is sometimes interpreted by other characters onstage and sometimes subtitled.

But while Gurira is terrific and I like the inclusive casting, the production drags for me. To be fair, it’s been a number of years since I read Richard III, which can make watching the play more difficult. That said, a great production can easily make me feel the dialogue without a recent read, and I don’t think this one always rises to the occasion. The direction doesn’t do much to help the actors along, and with a lot of characters, it can be hard to keep track of everybody.

I’m still glad I watched it, but I think it could’ve been done better. The casting is so interesting and has a lot of potential, especially with Gurira’s strong performance as an anchor. For the actors’ sake, I wish the production had risen more to the occasion.

Warnings

Violence, sexual references, drinking, and thematic elements.