A young English couple meets, falls in love, has children and suffers an unspeakable tragedy. "It plays like a more somber and realistic version of Shakespeare in Love: Call it Shakespeare in Grief," writes Fresh Air film critic Justin Chang. Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley star as Shakespeare and his wife in this adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 novel, directed by Chloé Zhao. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards.
We asked our NPR audience: What movie would you recommend to someone who loved Hamnet? Here's what you told us:
Hamlet (1996)
Directed by Kenneth Branagh, starring Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, Derek Jacobi
Are you a 6-foot-2 inch, 225-pound former Marine? Did you spend two hours in the back of a theater trying to muffle your sobs only to finally let them go during the finale? Well me too. Go (re)watch Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet. His ability to translate Shakespeare to film is unmatched. After watching Hamnet — and doing enough swearing about the Paul Mescal best actor snub (if Jessie Buckley loses best actress I swear I will throw my TV out of a window) — a reminder of how many meanings this endlessly fascinating play can have is a nice way to keep the Bard's spirit around. – Eric Forbes, San Francisco, Calif.
The Rider (2017)
Directed by Chloé Zhao; starring Brady Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lane Scott, Cat Clifford
Go back to Chloé Zhao's The Rider. It's only roughly thematically similar, but the aching empathy of the characters as well as Zhao's beautiful filmmaking are all right there. – Robert Morris, Brookline, Mass.
Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (2019) or Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Directed by Céline Sciamma; starring Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel
Like Hamnet, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is fascinated with how art allows humans to process great love and deep loss. Both films focus on the intimate lives of women in the past, showing how our domestic work, our reproductive realities, and our economic pressures have always shaped our choices and relationships. – Hannah Duff, Seattle, Wa.
Ghostlight (2024)
Directed by Kelly O'Sullivan, Alex Thompson; starring Keith Kupferer, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Tara Mallen, Dolly de Leon
A blue-collar father joins a local theater troupe only to discover that the play – Romeo & Juliet, natch – unearths painful truths about his past. At the time of release, this quiet drama about theater-as-therapy was overshadowed by the higher-profile Sing Sing. While both that film and Hamnet are rightfully receiving their due from Oscar, Ghostlight (directed by real-life partners, duo Kelly O'Sullivan and Alex Thompson) is no less insightful about the cathartic and healing power of art. Hamnet has been well-discussed for its five-hankie ending; Ghostlight might require ten. – Stanley Swindling, Los Angeles
The Testament of Ann Lee (2025)
Directed by Mona Fastvold; starring Amanda Seyfried, Lewis Pullman, Thomasin McKenzie
Both this film, about the origins of the Shaker movement, and Hamnet are very cottage-core period films about women in grief over losing a child. I also recommend Beast (2017), directed by Michael Pearce, about a young woman attracted to a man who might be a murderer, because Jessie Buckley had her first breakthrough in that film, and you can truly see a star being born in front of your eyes. – Serena Bramble, Menlo Park, Calif.
And a bonus pick from our critic:
All Is True (2018)
Directed by Kenneth Branagh; starring Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen
Kenneth Branagh plays an aged Bard, Judi Dench, his wife, long after the trauma depicted in Hamnet. – Bob Mondello, NPR movie critic
Carly Rubin and Ivy Buck contributed to this project. It was edited by Clare Lombardo.
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