Warning, there are spoilers ahead for Hamnet, which was released this weekend on the 2025 movie schedule.
I do truly believe that Hamnet is a remarkable movie. However, it’s not my kind of movie. The Chloé Zhao-directed book-to-movie adaptation is, by design and understandably, very emotional. After all, it’s a film about the death of a child and the devastating effect it has on the child’s parents. The performances from all the actors are wonderful. I would not be surprised at all to see Jessie Buckley accepting award after award over the next few months, and Paul Mescal might be too.
However, the actor who completely blew me away in the movie is Jacobi Jupe, who plays young Hamnet in the film. He might not get the award recognition that the adult actors get for Hamnet, but he should.
I’m Not A Cryer In Movies
Generally, very few movies bring me to tears. I don’t know what that says about me, and I’d rather not tap deeply into that, but it’s a fact. I’m far more likely to mist up with joy in the movie than sorrow, but even that is rare. If I’m completely honest, while I was touched by the story in Hamnet, I’m also not a parent, so I know the story doesn’t hit me as it would for parents of kids at any age. Combine those two things, and while I totally appreciate all the work in the movie, from the acting performances to Zhao's direction to Łukasz Żal's beautiful cinematography, the story isn’t visceral for me.
BUT! Jacobi Jube’s performance, at just 11 years old, is incredible. I had so much empathy for him and what his character does in the movie, saving his sister by begging death to take him instead. The scene after he has died, as he stands at the doorway to darkness and death, is one of the most moving things I’ve seen in a movie all year, and maybe ever. It is a truly shattering moment, and yes, I actually cried.
Jupe Is Just Wonderful
What makes Jupe’s acting so great is not just the hard moments; it’s all the happier moments we live with him early in the movie. He’s so lovable and relatable, even though he’s playing a child in the early 17th Century. He’s like all kids, he’s me and you. He loves his twin sister, and he loves his parents. Jupe walks the tricky line between joy, fear, and sorrow as his father (Mescal) leaves for another extended trip to London. His joy in putting on a performance for his mother and his playwright father is something that reminds me of my childhood.
When it all comes full circle, at that debut performance of Hamlet at the Globe Theater, I was moved to tears again by Jupe as Hamnet walks off stage, and into the darkness, relieving Agnes (Buckley) and giving her some peace over her son’s death. Jupe’s performance is so critical to my enjoyment of the movie that while I normally bristle at kids winning awards like Golden Globes or Oscars, I’m rooting for Jupe’s nomination. It’s that good.
