Hamnet intensifies Hamlet

Those unfamiliar with the line “To be or not to be” or who never heard of this guy William Shakespeare might find Hamnet a bit slow and puzzling. However, the playwright’s many fans can revel in a project that not only recreates an era but adds different insights to his formation and staging of Hamlet.  Based on a best-selling historical fiction novel by Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet focuses on Shakespeare’s wife, theorizing that the woman known as Anne Hathaway boasted her own set of talents. This Anne, called Agnes and played by Jessie Buckley, roams the woods with her hawk, finding healing herbs and communing with nature. An old maid at age 26, she defies her family’s wishes by marrying the young teacher who impregnates her. All this unfolds gradually in O’Farrell’s screenplay, co-written with

director Chloé Zhao. Since the story’s late 1500s setting precludes the documentary style opportunities Zhao showed with her Oscar winning direction of Nomadland, she goes for a lyrical style in gorgeously appointed period settings. Her camera pans at a crawl through dimly lit rooms whose minimal lighting plays with shadows that reflect the story’s darkness. After all, dealing the Black Plague and its killing force leaves little room for brightness. Yet by its end, the film shines with a different interpretation of Hamlet and its meaning. In a recreated version of the original Globe Theater, actor Paul Mescal as Shakespeare delivers a speech by the ghost of Hamlet’s father, flipping it into a message about the playwright’s own life. Standing up front as an audience member, Buckley’s face ripples with emotion, reacting to dawning realizations about the feelings she shares with her husband. By emphasizing audience reactions, Zhao heightens the impact of the play…though of course, it never hurts to have dialogue by someone like William Shakespeare.