Don’t call your kestral, go hunting, or brew homemade potions if you haven’t seen “Hamnet” (or read the original book) yet, because spoilers are coming!
I feel sorry for all the other actresses this awards season. Really, I am. If they want to win the Oscar for Best Leading Actress in a Motion Picture, they can do so because the 2026 Oscar in that particular category will go to Jessie Buckley for “Hamnet.” (“Hamnet” is the latest film from Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao and is based on Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel; O’Farrell co-wrote the screenplay with Zhao.)
Obviously, I’m being hyperbolic. Other pioneers, of course, in this category – like Amanda Seyfried for “The Testament of Ann Lee” or even Chase Infiniti for “One Battle After Another”, which is offered by Warner Bros. as the protagonist based on his significant screen time in Paul Thomas Anderson’s film – could certainly get a head start. Additionally, Focus Features could very well decide to place Buckley in the supporting actress category, although I think that would probably be a clear example of what is called “category cheating”, as Buckley’s face begins And ends the film.
Still, I’m serious when I say that Buckley’s performance is something special. As Agnes Hathaway, a wild young woman who eventually marries Paul Mescal’s William Shakespeare and starts a family with the man who will become one of the most famous writers in the English canon, Buckley is magnetic, grounded and absolutely stunning. At the very least, Buckley will be tough to beat as Oscar season begins in earnest.
Jessie Buckley is arguably the star of Hamnet
The narrative of “Hamnet” takes place over at least a full decade, if not a little more — and as a result, Jessie Buckley’s Agnes lives about five lives before the film ends. When we first meet Agnes in the woods near her family home in the English countryside, she is hunting with her beloved kestral, a bird that accompanies her for most of her journey and clearly symbolizes her desire for freedom and the great outdoors. Although she initially resists the advances of a young Will Shakespeare, Agnes eventually falls in love with the man – who worked as a tutor before his huge success as a playwright in London – and they have three children: daughter Susanna (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) and twins Hamnet and Judith (Jacobi Jupe and Olivia Lynes).
When illness sweeps through the countryside while Will is in London working on a play, the family is horrified when Judith falls ill. Hamnet, bravely but arguably stupid, crawls into his twin’s sickbed and tries to pray that the gods will make him suffer…and that’s exactly what happens. Judith survives, but Hamnet dies after contracting her illness.
Suffice it to say that Agnes is, like any mother, in the grip of inconsolable grief…and the fact that Will was absent during Hamnet’s brief illness and subsequent death creates an immovable divide between husband and wife. Agnes is blown away, however, when she forces herself to go see Will’s new play “Hamlet” in London (the names Hamlet and Hamnet, as the film tells us in the opening title card, are basically the same). Will made their son immortal through his play, giving a strange “purpose” to Agnes’ all-consuming grief.
Jessie Buckley’s Amazing Performance Will Destroy You
Okay, let’s talk about Hamnet’s death.
After frantically trying to save Judith, Agnès tries to recover a few rest, only to discover a mortally ill Hamnet in Judith’s sickbed when he wakes up. After Will’s mother, Mary (Emily Watson), gently confirms that the boy is gone, the screams and screams that tear Agnes apart are relentless and horrific; there was not a dry eye in the house. On the one hand, Buckley’s turn as Agnes and the performance that follows could uncharitably be called “Oscar bait,” but I think that’s a bad take, and here’s why.
First of all, Buckley’s time as Agnes feels fully lived in, and that’s thanks to the careful touch of director Chloé Zhao. Second, Buckley’s performance is raw, calm and honest; despite the emotional ups and downs, he never seems overachieving or showy. Part couldand this is me writing wildly, that Buckley filmed “Hamnet” while she was pregnant. Putting all that aside, the journey Agnes goes through after Hamnet’s death really solidifies Buckley’s status as a favorite for me.
At the end of “Hamnet,” Agnes sees “Hamlet,” the play her husband wrote to deal with his own grief. As she looks around the room in bewilderment and confusion, you see a litany of emotions cross Buckley’s face as Agnes takes it all in and realizes that Will gave her son a posthumous gift and made him immortal, giving him a life far beyond his all-too-brief 11 years. It’s breathtaking, moving, and satisfying…and without Buckley, not a second of it would work, even beyond this truly incredible and darkly uplifting conclusion. Without Buckley behind her, Agnes wouldn’t feel as real. Give him the Oscar. Please.
“Hamnet” is now playing in cinemas around the world.
