Structure and Hamnet

Making the internal external

by Carlo Cavagna

Hamnet, one of the most critically lauded films of 2025, speculates on the inspiration for the greatest tragedy ever written—Shakespeare’s Hamlet—but unusually Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) himself is often in the background of the film. Instead, the movie stays with the point of view of his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley) in their home in Strat…