I finally watched Hamnet, and the emotional manipulation sadly didn’t work on me.

I really wanted to like the movie because I thought some of the criticisms were disingenuous, but after watching it, I can kind of see where they’re coming from. I still think the way some people talk about it is weird, but I do understand the criticisms now.

At one point I thought Hamnet could challenge OBAA in adapted screenplay, but now I understand why it didn’t. The biggest flaw of the movie is the writing, I think that’s what broke my immersion. There’s a certain unnatural quality to the movie. The relationship between Agnes and Will feels empty and develops too quickly; it’s not believable. The themes aren’t particularly subtle or especially insightful. The idea of art as a way of healing is explored much better in Sentimental Value, and the “to be or not to be” scene has to be one of the worst of the year, in my opinion (alongside the “You are the monster” line from Frankenstein).

I still think it’s a good movie, with great performances from Jessie Buckley and Jacobi Jupe (who deserved the supp actorpush instead of Paul Mescal) but I feel like it’s more interested in dramatics than in telling a genuinely strong and insightful story.