Hamnet: A Ghost Story of Love, Loss, and the Birth of a Masterpiece

History remembers the playwright; it rarely remembers the cost of his art. In Hamnet, director Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, Eternals) returns to the intimate, sweeping landscapes of the human heart to tell a story that has long been obscured by the shadow of a literary giant. Releasing in cinemas on February 6, 2026, and fresh off a historic win at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) where it secured the People’s Choice Award, Hamnet is not a standard biopic. It is a sensory, devastating, and ultimately transcendent exploration of parenthood and grief.

Based on the best-selling novel by Maggie O’Farrell, the film shifts the focus from William Shakespeare to his wife, Agnes (historically Anne Hathaway), and their son, Hamnet, whose death at age eleven is widely believed to have inspired the play Hamlet. Starring the powerhouse duo of Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley, the film transforms a historical footnote into a living, breathing tragedy. For cinephiles visiting fmovies.tr, this is the first essential drama of 2026—a film that demands to be felt as much as seen.

The Plot: The Boy Behind the Ghost

The narrative takes us to Stratford-upon-Avon in the 1580s and 90s, a world of mud, herbal remedies, and superstition. We are introduced to Agnes (Jessie Buckley), a woman of the earth, often misunderstood by her in-laws and neighbors due to her eccentricities and affinity for nature. She falls for a penniless Latin tutor, William (Paul Mescal), whose mind is always elsewhere. Their marriage is one of intense passion but also separation, as William spends months in London seeking his fortune in the theater while Agnes raises their three children in the countryside.

The film’s inciting incident—and its inevitable tragedy—is the arrival of the bubonic plague. However, the story subverts expectations. It is not the weak who fall, but the vibrant. The death of their eleven-year-old son, Hamnet, fractures the family. The second half of the film is a study in divergent grief. Agnes weaves her sorrow into the land, searching for her son in the wind and the trees, while William, unable to face the silence of his home, pours his pain into ink.

The Creation of Hamlet

The crux of the drama lies in how Hamnet’s death becomes the catalyst for William’s most famous work. The film suggests that Hamlet was not just a play, but a séance—a desperate attempt by a father to speak to his dead son one last time. The climax, which features the staging of the play, is less about theatrical triumph and more about a painful, public confession of love and regret.

Director’s Vision: Chloé Zhao’s Naturalism

Chloé Zhao is arguably the perfect director for this material. Known for her “magic hour” cinematography and use of natural light, she strips away the stuffy, polished veneer usually associated with Tudor-period dramas. Hamnet feels tactical and raw. You can practically smell the dried lavender in Agnes’s workshop and feel the damp chill of the English winter.

Zhao collaborates once again with the script, co-writing with author Maggie O’Farrell, ensuring the lyrical quality of the prose is translated visually. The camera is often handheld, following the characters closely, creating an intimacy that feels voyeuristic. Zhao focuses on hands, eyes, and the small, domestic objects that make up a life, rather than grand establishing shots of castles. This grounding makes the supernatural elements—Agnes’s premonitions and the “ghost” of Hamnet—feel entirely plausible within the reality of the film.

The Cast: A Duet of Sorrow

The film is a two-hander, relying entirely on the chemistry and vulnerability of its leads.

• Jessie Buckley as Agnes: This is Agnes’s movie, and Buckley delivers a performance of ferocious intensity. She portrays Agnes not as a victim of history, but as a force of nature. Her grief is physical; she howls, she runs, she stares down the plague. Buckley captures the fierce, protective instinct of a mother who knows she cannot save her child but refuses to let him be forgotten. It is an Oscar-worthy turn that anchors the entire production.
• Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare: Playing the most famous writer in history is a trap many actors fall into, usually by over-acting. Mescal avoids this by playing William simply as a man. He is a distracted husband, a loving but absent father, and an artist who is terrified of his own emotions. Mescal’s performance is internal; we see the wheels turning behind his eyes. His chemistry with Buckley is electric, conveying a deep, complicated love that survives even the worst betrayal—the transformation of their son’s death into entertainment.
• Emily Watson as Mary: As William’s mother, Watson brings a prickly, difficult energy to the household, representing the societal pressures that Agnes so often ignores.
• Joe Alwyn: In a smaller role, Alwyn provides a steady presence as the supportive brother-in-law, grounding the family dynamics.

Critical Review: Art Born from Pain

Hamnet is a film about the price of immortality. It asks a difficult question: Is a masterpiece worth the pain it took to create it?

The Atmosphere and Pacing

Running at 2 hours and 5 minutes, the film is deliberately paced. It does not rush through the timeline. The first hour is dedicated to building the world of the family, making the loss in the second half feel like a physical blow to the audience. Zhao allows scenes to breathe, often holding shots of nature or silent contemplation. For audiences expecting a fast-paced historical thriller, this might be challenging, but for those willing to surrender to the rhythm, it is hypnotic.

Visuals and Score

The cinematography is stunning, utilizing a muted palette of browns, greens, and greys that bursts into gold during moments of joy or spiritual connection. The score is sparse, relying on wind instruments and strings that mimic the sounds of the 16th-century countryside. It never manipulates the viewer’s emotion; instead, it accompanies it.

Hamnet is a triumph of adaptation. It takes a literary sensation and transforms it into pure cinema. It reclaims the story of Agnes Shakespeare from the margins of history and places her center stage. It is heartbreaking, yes, but it is also deeply healing. It shows us that while we cannot bring back the dead, we can keep them alive through memory and art.

Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley have set the bar for acting in 2026. This is not just a movie about Shakespeare; it is a movie about every parent who has ever had to say goodbye too soon. It is beautiful, devastating, and essential viewing