Adapted from Maggie O'Farrell's novel by the same title (2020), director and co-writer Chloe Zhang presents a mostly fictionalized, historical drama about the impact the 1596 death of Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe), the 11 years old son of Anne (referred to as Agnes in the film) Hathaway (Jessie Buckley) and William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), had on their marriage. The feature speculates that Hamnet was the inspiration of the masterpiece Hamlet and that the famous "To be or not to be" speech was written while Shakespeare, driven by grief, was contemplating suicide.
Striking performances are highlighted by Buckley's and Mescal's increasingly powerful emotional depth leading to a stirring finale.
Marked by beautiful aesthetics are Lukasz Zal's cinematography, Malgosia Turzansca's costume design, Fiona Crombie's lush production design, and Max Richter's original score.
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