it’s the 16th-century, and William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) recently moved back home to Stratford to become a Latin tutor, to help pay off his father’s debts. One day while teaching, he sees a woman by the forest summon a hawk to her gloved hand. He’s instantly smitten by the woman, and learns that her name is Agnes (Jessie Buckley). Agnes is a healer, who loves to spend time in the woods, gathering herbs. There are rumors that Agnes is the daughter of a forest witch, but Will pays no attention to this. The two quickly fall in love and Agnes ends up pregnant. Despite objections from their families, the two decide to get married. Over the years, their family grows, and in addition to their daughter Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), they also welcome twins Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe) and Judth (Olivia Lynes). While Agnes spends all of her time at their Hewlands farmhouse with the children, Will often makes long trips to London during theatre season to work on his writing for his company. During one of these trips, the plague strikes, and takes the life of their beloved eleven-year-old son, Hamnet. Now the couple is in mourning and struggling to process their devastating loss. Agnes must find a way to accept that she is a healer who couldn’t even save her own son, and be there for the other children. While Will explores his grief and feelings through his writing, turning his latest play, Hamlet, into a tragedy inspired by his son.

Hamnet is based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, and explores the relationship between Anne (Agnes) Hathaway and William Shakespeare, and the origins of Shakespeare’s beloved tragedy Hamlet. The film has been nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director (Chloé Zhao) and Best Actress (Jessie Buckley). I know there are folks who loved this film, but I was not one of them. I struggled to get through it both the first time I saw it in the theater, and the second time when I was sent this Blu-ray for review. I have never been a fan of Chloé Zhao’s work. I often find her films to be incredibly slow and boring, and this was no different. It takes a long time to get to the crux of the film. There are loads of long speeches (which were often difficult to understand due to the Shakespeare-style language) and long shots of nature, without much of anything happening.

On the positive side, the film does look quite beautiful at times. The colorful shots of nature and the farmhouse really pop. And the filmmakers have done an excellent job of recreating the Globe theatre and 16th century London. The film is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio, which fills the screen, rather than the typical wider but shorter cinematic ratios. There is also this creative flow to the camera as it often slowly pans across scenes, rather than quick cuts to other locations. During her commentary track, the director suggests that camera work was to give the film a god-like, more-modern CCTV type of view of what’s going on. Another positive for the film is Jessie Buckley’s performance. She delivers an incredibly strong, and emotional gut punch in the final act of the film. This was easily the highlight of the movie—I just wish it hadn’t taken 90 minutes to get to that point.

Universal has released Hamnet on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital. We were sent the Blu-ray release of the film for review, and it looks and sounds fantastic. The picture looks clean and clear, with a solid level of detail throughout. The greens of the forest really pops, and the natural look of the farmhouse and Globe theatre really come through. The Dolby Atmos soundtrack provides clear dialogue and quite an immersive experience, especially with the sounds of nature or the crowd at the theatre.

This disc release contains a solid selection of bonus material, including over 20 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast/crew as well as a director commentary. The Blu-ray release includes just a single Blu-ray disc, packed in a standard HD keepcase, along with a glossy cardboard slipcover, and redemption instructions for an HD digital copy of the film.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:05:20)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English DVS (Descriptive Video Service), Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital (code may not be valid after 3/31/2027):

• HD Digital Copy (Movies Anywhere compatible)

Extras:
Play All, or select from:

• Family Is Forever (7:27)
  The cast and crew talk about the characters, the cast, and the family atmosphere and chemistry on set. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with co-screenwriter/director/co-editor Chloé Zhao, and stars Jessie Buckley (“Agnes”), Paul Mescal (“Will”), Emily Watson (“Mary”), David Wilmot (“John”), Bodhi Rae Breathnach (“Susanna”), Olivia Lynes (“Judith”) & Jacobi Jupe (“Hamnet”).
• Cultivating Creativity (4:35)
  The cast and crew talk about the adapting the novel, fostering creativity on set, working with the director, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with co-screenwriter/director/co-editor Chloé Zhao, author//co-screenwriter/co-producer
  Maggie O’Farrell, producers Liza Marshall & Pippa Harris, and stars Jessie Buckley & Paul Mescal.
• Recreating the Tudor Period (10:10)
  The cast and crew talk about recreating the Globe theater, designing the costumes, working with the cinematographer, the period sets, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with co-screenwriter/director/co-editor Chloé Zhao, producers Pippa Harris & Liza Marshall, hair & make-up designer Nicole Stafford, costume designer Malgosia Turzanska, director of photography Łukasz Żal, first assistant director Marc A. Wilson, production designer Fiona Crombie, set decorator Alice Felton, and stars Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Joe Alwyn (“Bartholomew”) & David Wilmot.
• Feature Commentary with Director Chloé Zhao (2:05:20)
  The director shares lots of behind-the-scenes stories about the production, discussing her and the actors’ processes, the use of improvisation, the energy on set, the use of effects, the camera angles, the sets, and more.

Final Thoughts:

Hamnet is adapted from the novel of the same name, and tells the story of the relationship between Agnes (Anne) Hathaway and William Shakespeare, and how their loss was the inspiration for one of the world’s best known tragedies, Hamlet. I have never been a fan of Chloé Zhao’s work, and this film did not change that. I found her movies to be very slow, and this one was also hard to get through. However, the movie does look quite beautiful, and Jessie Buckley gives a stellar, gut-wrenching performance in the film’s final act. It’s worth a look for that alone. Fans of the film will appreciate Universal’s Blu-ray presentation, which features excellent picture and sound as well as a small selection of behind-the-scenes material and a director commentary. If you want to check out the film before a blind buy, it is now streaming on Peacock.