Based on the best-selling novel by Maggie O'Farrell, this historical drama reimagines the life of Agnes, the wife of William Shakespeare, as she grapples with the devastating loss of her only son, Hamnet. Set against the backdrop of 16th-century England, the film explores the profound grief that threatens to tear her family apart and the creative spark that eventually leads her husband to write one of the world's most enduring tragedies, Hamlet.
Information |
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|---|---|
Language |
English |
Country |
United States United Kingdom |
Premiere date |
March 28, 2025 |
Running time |
115 minutes |
Genre |
Drama History Biography |
Budget |
$30,000,000 - $35,000,000 |
Box Office |
$44,000,000 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Chloé Zhao |
Produced by |
Sam Mendes Pippa Harris Chloé Zhao |
Written by |
Chloé Zhao Maggie O'Farrell |
Music by |
Niccolò Athens |
Cinematography |
Joshua James Richards |
Edited by |
Chloé Zhao Affonso Gonçalves |
Production Co. |
Amblin Partners Hera Pictures Neal Street Productions |
Distributed by |
Focus Features (Universal) |
Official Trailer
The Plot
A Fated Meeting in the Stratford Woods
In the late 16th century, the boundary between names was as fluid as the Stratford records themselves, where "Hamnet" and "Hamlet" were whispered interchangeably. Against this backdrop, Agnes Hathaway, a woman whispered to be the daughter of a "forest witch," moves through the woods with an ethereal grace. With a falconry glove shielding her arm, she summons her pet hawk to her wrist, a display of wild connection that captivates William Shakespeare. Working as a humble Latin tutor to pay off his family’s debts, William is transfixed as he watches Agnes approach her barn. When he gathers the courage to speak to her, the hawk nips his finger—an act Agnes claims is a sign of affection. In that moment of shared laughter and sharp tension, the two share a kiss that binds their futures together.
Their burgeoning romance serves as an escape from the suffocating realities of their domestic lives. Agnes lives under the thumb of her stepmother, Joan, finding solace only in her stepbrother Bartholomew. Meanwhile, William endures the psychological and physical brutality of his father, John, a man who belittles his son’s literary ambitions and treats him with constant disdain. Despite the warnings from William’s mother, Mary, regarding Agnes’s mystical reputation and her knowledge of herbal lore, William is drawn deeper into her world. In the quiet of the forest, he gifts her a new glove and, at her request, tells her the tragic tale of Orpheus and Eurydice—a story of love, loss, and the underworld that would mirror their own journey.
The Burden of Prophecy and New Life
Agnes possesses a sight beyond the physical world, haunted by memories of her late mother, Rowan, and a chilling vision of her own end: dying with only two children by her side. When her secret romance with William results in pregnancy, she is forced to flee her home. Bartholomew accompanies her to the Shakespeare residence, where a tense confrontation between the families leads to a forced union. John and Bartholomew agree they must wed, and soon Agnes gives birth to their first daughter, Susanna, in the sanctuary of the woods. William continues to craft gloves for his father, but the cycle of abuse eventually breaks him. After a violent altercation with John, William chooses to leave the manual labor behind to focus on his writing.
However, the transition is far from seamless. William develops a drinking problem, his loud frustrations often waking the infant Susanna. Sensing his stifled genius and growing despair in Stratford, Agnes makes a pivotal sacrifice: she urges him to seek his fortune in the theater community of London. While William pursues his craft in the city, a pregnant Agnes remains behind. When the time comes for her second labor, Mary prevents her from retreating to the woods, forcing her to give birth within the confines of the house. The memory of her mother’s death haunts Agnes as she brings Hamnet into the world, followed by a twin sister, Judith. The midwife and Mary believe Judith is stillborn, but Agnes refuses to accept death; she holds the infant, speaking life into her until the girl finally wakes, defying the odds.
The Shadow of the Plague
Eleven years pass, and William has become a success in London’s theatrical world, returning intermittently to visit his growing family. The children, Hamnet and Judith, share a bond so deep they often switch clothes to prank their parents, inheriting their father’s love for performance. Yet, an omen of darkness arrives when Agnes’s hawk dies. After burying the bird in the woods, she tells the children to make a wish to its spirit, believing the hawk will carry their desires in its heart. In London, William witnesses a grim puppet show depicting the Bubonic Plague, unaware that the "Black Death" is already creeping toward his own doorstep in Stratford.
The tragedy strikes when Judith contracts the plague. Hamnet is the first to notice her symptoms, and as Agnes desperately tends to her daughter, Hamnet makes a selfless, devastating plea. Laying by his sister’s side, he begs the sickness to take him instead of her. His prayer is answered with cruel precision; Judith recovers, but Hamnet falls into an excruciating decline. In his final moments, the boy hallucinates himself in an empty house and on a grand stage, calling out for his mother as Agnes’s hawk appears in his vision. Hamnet dies in his mother’s agonized embrace, leaving Agnes to let out a wail that echoes through the house. When William finally rushes home, he is shattered, able only to mutter, "That’s my boy," as he looks upon his son’s lifeless body.
To Be, or Not to Be
The aftermath of Hamnet’s death leaves a hollow void in the Shakespeare marriage. Agnes, consumed by guilt and grief, finds that her prophetic "sight" has vanished; she can no longer see the future. William’s response to the tragedy is to retreat back into his work in London, a move Agnes perceives as a cold abandonment. In the city, William is a man possessed, berating his actors for their lack of passion and contemplating his own existence on the edge of a jetty by the River Thames. In the silence of his despair, he whispers the words that would define a generation: "To be, or not to be..."
Back in Stratford, the bitter stepmother Joan delivers a pamphlet to Agnes, announcing William’s newest play: *The Tragedie of Hamlet*. Horrified and offended that William would seemingly profane their son’s name for public entertainment, Agnes travels to London with Bartholomew. She attends the performance at the Globe Theatre, initially interrupting the play with outbursts of anger. However, as the scenes unfold, her rage turns to revelation. She watches as the lead actor—playing a version of her son—interacts with William, who has taken the role of the Ghost of Hamlet’s father. She realizes the play is not a mockery, but a monumental tribute—a way for William to give Hamnet the life and the "action role" he always dreamed of.
The Eternal Eulogy
As the performance reaches its climax, the veil between reality and art thins. Agnes quietly beckons to William from the audience, just as she did on their wedding day, grounding him in his performance. When the character of Hamlet faces his end, Agnes reaches forward and holds the lead actor’s hand at the base of the thumb—the same gesture she used to predict William's future years before. The entire audience follows suit, reaching out toward the dying prince in a collective moment of mourning and grace. In that instant, Agnes envisions Hamnet himself on the stage, no longer in pain, but smiling back at her before he disappears into the wings, moving toward a light that resembles her mystical forest cave. For the first time since the burial of her son, the heavy shroud of grief lifts, and Agnes begins to smile and laugh, finally finding peace in her husband’s immortal eulogy.
Top Cast
- Jessie Buckley as Agnes
- Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare
- Emily Watson as Carey (Agnes's Mother)
- Joe Alwyn as TBD
- Jacobi Jupe as Hamnet
- Frankie Fox as Judith
- Sullivan Jones as TBD
- Tom Glynn-Carney as TBD
- Niamh McCormack as TBD
- Isabella Pappas as TBD
