Normal People star's "utterly extraordinary" turn in tragic Shakespeare drama released to wave of acclaim - and perfect Rotten Tomatoes debut

Charting Shakespeare and his wife Agnes's grief after losing their 11-year-old son, the movie was always set to tug at the heartstrings. But, from the looks of early reviews, it appears to be one of the most devastating watches of the year.

A tragedy, much like the great playwright's tales themselves.

Hamnet marks Zhao's return to cinema, with critics praising both her handling of the adaptation and the performances by leads Buckley and Mescal.

The movie has now premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, and is expected to be one of the standouts of the box office.

A review by The Playlist states: "The emotional release by these two actors is often arresting and akin to a dramatic faucet being unleashed on a wildfire.

"In the wrong hands, these moments could ring false and forced. Zhao, Buckley, and Mescal don’t know the meaning of those words."

It's a movie that's set to pack quite the emotional punch, with Bilge Ebiri saying as much in his write-up for Vulture: "Hamnet is devastating, maybe the most emotionally shattering movie I’ve seen in years.

"The book was overwhelming, too, and going into a film about the death of a child, one naturally prepares to shed some tears. Still, I did not really expect to cry this much."

Although what caused Shakespeare's 11-year-old son's death isn't known, the movie suggests that Hamnet died of the bubonic plague.

Ebiri mentioned the film approaches the difficult subject matter with "magical realist sensibility", but also underlines the performance of Mescal by saying that "we sometimes forget what a phenomenal actor Mescal is".

Deadline's review of the film highlights a particular "punch in the gut" moment where Agnes (Buckley) watches the very first performance of Shakespeare's Hamlet front and centre, but still deep in the midst of her own grief.

Celebrating Buckley's performance in particular, the review reads: "Buckley, who can do no wrong, is sensational and the beating heart of the story as a young woman who ran free and marched to her own drummer, but who became a fiercely protective and devoted mother."

Variety also praised the Agnes-centred narrative, with Peter Dubrege calling it a "radically feminine take on Shakespeare's family life".

He writes: "Between these two scenes — Susanna’s birth and Hamlet’s death — is the most agonizing depiction of grief I’ve witnessed in years... If Hamnet feels too much at times, ask yourself why that is. Is it the movie’s fault, or is Zhao challenging us to confront something we’ve been avoiding until now?"

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Similarly, IndieWire's Hamnet review also hones in on the emotional impact of grief, saying: "And yet the violent beauty of this film, which rips your soul out of your chest so completely that its seismic grief almost feels like falling in love or becoming a parent, is that it’s as much about the experience of having a child as it is about the experience of losing one."

We'll have to wait a little while longer for Hamnet to hit screens but so far, the movie has already got 100 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 12 reviews (at the time of writing).

While US movie-goers will be looking forward to Hamnet's November release, UK cinephiles will have to exercise a bit of patience as it's not set to land this side of the pond until January 2026.

Hamnet will release in UK cinemas on 9th January 2026.

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