Here’s one of the best written, most movingly phrased passages I’ve ever come across in a Jordan Ruimy review….a heartfelt riff about Cloe Zhao‘s Hamnet and particularly Jessie Buckley:
“Where Zhao sometimes falters, her lead more than makes up for it. Jessie Buckley is extraordinary, inhabiting Agnes Hathaway with a presence that feels both elemental and infinite. When she carries the film to its final, shattering minutes, she channels sorrow and hope, rendering grief as something living — almost too real.
“Paul Mescal, despite having far less screen time, delivers a commendable performance [as William Shakespeare], though it remains unremarkable until he elevates his game in the final scenes.
“About that finale — it’s transcendent. Max Richter’s ‘On the Nature of Daylight’ has been used before, and yet here it feels justified. It’s in that very moment that Zhao’s film reveals its purpose: the intimate grief of a family becomes the nucleus for enduring art. The private sorrow of Agnes and William blossoms into something universal. This scene alone redeems the film.”
Guess what? Hamnet is going to beat One Battle After Another. Unless they split the vote and Sentimental Value cleans up.