Eternals Director’s Movie With Paul Mescal Gets Amazing Reviews & RT Score

Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet has earned strong reviews and an outstanding Rotten Tomatoes score. Featuring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley in the lead roles, the film explores the marriage of Agnes and William Shakespeare. With the widespread praise, the film has already generated significant excitement.

What critics are saying about Hamnet

Critics have now weighed in on Hamnet, and the early reviews show a largely positive response. The film centers on the marriage of Agnes and William Shakespeare, portrayed by Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal respectively. It examines the devastating impact of the loss of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet.

Kristy Puchko of Mashable calls Hamnet as a major contender in this awards season and commends director Chloé Zhao. She describes the film as “a drama that is more than a sentimental tearjerker poised for Oscar accolades; it is an earthy and poetic raw tale of love and loss.” 

Praising Mescal and Buckley, she writes, “In early scenes of courting, they sizzle, each utilizing their well-reputed onscreen intensity. As the Shakespeare marriage gets complicated by distance and grief, they become explosions, destined to collide.”

Puchko concluded, “Hamnet could leave you tear-soaked and in tatters.”

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle offers a different perspective. He noted, “Hamnet is an effective movie to the extent that it imagines a glowing personality and life for a woman who is barely remembered historically. But when it runs out of story midway and starts exploring the inspiration for “Hamlet,” it starts to fall apart. It becomes sentimental. Even worse, it becomes nonsensical.” 

However, LaSalle praises both Buckley’s performance and the film’s production design.

Phil de Semlyen of Time Out labels the film a “Tudor tearjerker” and asserts that both Buckley and Mescal deliver the strongest performances of their careers. He wrote, “Hamnet tells the story behind Shakespeare’s great tragedy – Hamlet – and much more besides.”

Hamnet garners impressive score on Rotten Tomatoes

Hamnet currently holds an 87 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 86 reviews. On Metacritic, it holds a Metascore of 90. The film is scheduled to release in theaters on November 26, 2025.

Source: Comingsoon.net