lou's library

I’m the sort of person that says ‘I really wanna see that movie in the cinema’ and then never goes without being able to say why exactly. But not when one of my favourite books is being adapted starring one of my favourite actors playing my favourite playwright ever. No, in that case, I’m sat weeks in advance. So you best believe that I went to see Hamnet the week it hit cinemas. And I loved it (no surprises there). Only to then find out that the chronically online people were starting to tear it down, after some initial praise for Jessie Buckley’s performance.

Suddenly, everyone was talking about grief bait and accusing the film of exploiting its plot to make every single audience member cry. And then there are those who take issue with the entire book and film: that it imagines Shakespeare’s private life, centres on his wife though we historically know very little about her, and then goes on to suggest that the death of their son Hamnet heavily inspired the creation of his tragedy Hamlet.

But I wonder: what is art for if not imagination? For exploring ideas that have no or little root in reality, and to see where that takes you? Isn’t that exactly why we revel in the creation and consumption of literature, film, music? To escape the limitations of real life and dip our minds into the endless possibilities of imagination?

No, we do not know if Shakespeare really did try to come to terms with his son’s death through the writing of Hamlet, and we most likely never will. We also do not know how his wife Anne (or Agnes, as she’s called in the book and movie) dealt with this loss, or how it affected their marriage. But that should not mean we cannot imagine what it might have been like.

I think we should trust readers and audiences to be able to discern between fact and fiction. Hamnet is a novel that was turned into a movie. Perhaps it will even tempt some readers or viewers into doing some research into Shakespeare’s life, or to read Hamlet and see for themselves how the themes of loss and grief are being handled in the play.

And for those complaining about the movie being focused solely on trying to get you to leave the cinema in tears, that has not been my experience. While I did cry at the end, which I admit is rare for me, at no point did I feel as though they were honing in on the tragedy of it all solely for the purpose of eliciting emotions from the audience. I think the logic there would be that it heightens the movie’s award chances if everyone leaves the cinema feeling shaken and sad. But what I experienced was profound joy at the end of the movie, because I thought the ending was incredibly stunning and perhaps more importantly, that the experience of loss and grief had been portrayed in a manner that felt right to me.

After all, this is a movie about the loss of a child. You would expect that to tuck on your heartstrings, wouldn’t you? But I don’t understand the accusation that it doubled down on it, because Hamnet is about so much more than “just” grief. It’s about independence, familial ties, imagination, being human. It’s life-affirming, not the opposite.

I left the cinema feeling so much appreciation for being alive and the beauty of art, as ridiculously pretentious as that sounds, and was a bit shocked to see so many people online complaining about the movie. It goes without saying that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and that part of the fun of art is getting to discuss it. I just felt the urge to share my perspective too, because I can see this becoming one of my favourite movies and therefore I am starting to feel protective about it.

I think they did the book more than justice, they translated its stunning writing into a visual language that was gorgeous to behold, and Jessie Buckley truly is the most perfect Agnes I could have imagined. She better be getting that Oscar, otherwise I’ll be fuming!! As to my favourite Paul, I never would have thought I would get to see him play Shakespeare. What a gift that was and also I would like to thank whoever decided to make him wear that earring. What a service to humanity, we’ll be in your debt for all of eternity.

Have you seen Hamnet? If so, what are your thoughts on the discourse surrounding it?