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So, How's the Hamnet Adaptation?

Book Riot - The Podcast

Wed Dec 10 2025

Summary

Book Riot Podcast: "So, How’s the Hamnet Adaptation?" — Summary

Podcast: Book Riot – The Podcast
Episode: So, How’s the Hamnet Adaptation?
Date: December 10, 2025
Hosts: Rebecca Schinsky & Vanessa Diaz

Episode Overview

Rebecca Schinsky and Vanessa Diaz dive deep into the film adaptation of Hamnet, based on Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel. They discuss how the adaptation stands on its own, compare it to the source material, unpack critical discourse around the film’s emotional impact, and reflect on casting, direction, and the music that underpins its power. Spoilers for both the book and film are present, as the conversation analyzes key differences and emotional beats.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Initial Impressions and Emotional Reactions

Both Rebecca and Vanessa describe experiencing an intense emotional response to the movie, highlighting collective catharsis in audience reactions.
Vanessa shares that seeing Hamnet before most people made it a solitary, raw experience:

“We're all having feelings and don't know what to do with them right now because it was just such a big swell in particular at the end.” (06:08)

2. Background: The Story of Hamnet and Adaptation Approach

Rebecca offers a concise summary of Hamnet’s historical background and explains the differences in how Agnes (aka Anne) and William Shakespeare are depicted in both the book and film.
The adaptation chooses a linear timeline, contrasting the book’s time-hopping structure:

“Where the book moves back and forth in time a whole lot, the movie is a pretty linear timeline.” (13:23)
The movie starts with Agnes, establishing her mystical, natural persona, rather than focusing on Hamnet’s fever as in the novel.

3. Performance and Characterization

Both hosts are sweepingly positive about Jessie Buckley’s performance as Agnes:

“If you told me she actually gave birth to her child in that scene... I’d believe you.” (14:57)
Paul Mescal’s turn as Shakespeare is noted for its restraint and complement to Buckley:

“He’s the second fiddle to Agnes for most of the film and still, like, a very powerful second fiddle.” (15:25)

4. Visuals, Direction, and Sensory Experience

Both hosts gush over the film’s lush visual language and Chloe Zhao’s literary, textured approach:

“The whole thing is gorgeous, start to finish, and so carefully detailed and richly detailed.” (14:05)
The chemistry between leads is given special mention—a scene-centric, visually intimate narrative.

5. Adaptation Choices: What’s Gained and Lost

Missing from the film are much of Agnes’s “witchiness” and the interiority so vital to the book.
Vanessa notes:

“I wanted to see a lot more of Agnes witchiness fleshed out...but once I kind of settled into...relax and let the feelings just eventually kind of...see this for what it is I think I started to understand the genius of Chloe Zhao." (11:08)
The film adds more direct references to Shakespeare and presents him more as a co-lead, a clear shift from the novel’s focus on the family, especially Agnes.

6. Invoking Shakespeare and Hollywood Additions

The movie weaves in overt Shakespearean nods, such as lines from Romeo and Juliet, which Rebecca found Hollywood-esque:

“There’s nothing in Maggie O’Farrell or history to tell us that he wrote Romeo and Juliet inspired by Agnes...I didn’t need that extra layer.” (25:13)
The final act leans into Hamlet dramatization, possibly to ensure a broader audience connects the dots:

“I wondered if that was a choice for folks who maybe weren’t going to make the connection.” (35:25)

7. Handling of Grief & Emotional Discourse

The conversation pivots to the “grief porn” discussion, and both hosts robustly defend the film's emotional honesty:

“I feel like this is really beautifully done in a way that I felt earned. And like, yeah, I cried like a baby, but I enjoyed it for lack of a better word.” — Vanessa (39:50) “The only thing...that really did not work for me...as Hamnet is dying, there are these shots of him on the other side of the veil...that was like a little much.” — Rebecca (32:20)
They appreciate the historically-rooted, present treatment of death and grief, contrasting it with modern, more sterile depictions.

8. Music and Soundtrack

Max Richter’s score is described as deeply affecting and integral. Vanessa shares background and personal impact:

“If I hear that song, it doesn’t matter where I am, what I am doing, it will reduce me to a puddle of tears.” (47:03)
Strategic use of music and silence is celebrated, especially the absence of score during Hamnet’s death.

9. Favorite Scenes and Notable Production Choices

Improvised scene: The children's improvised “Macbeth witches” scene was done as a surprise for Jessie Buckley, enhancing authenticity (44:21).
Chloe Zhao’s direction—intuitive, empathetic, visually lush—and the surprising casting backstory (originally Tom Holland was set to play Shakespeare).

10. Who Should (and Shouldn’t) See Hamnet?

The hosts urge listeners to see Hamnet in a theater for full effect, emphasizing the collective experience.

“Do not interrupt this movie...this is really intended to be two hours in the dark in a collective experience with other people.” (56:16)
The film is recommended for those who “want to feel something,” fans of the book, Shakespeare enthusiasts, and anyone open to being deeply moved by art.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

On Jessie Buckley’s Performance:

“She’s some kind of witch.” — Rebecca (06:06)
On Emotional Impact:

“As Jeff’s wonderful partner, Michelle, would lovingly put it, this is a five alarm snot bomb.” — Rebecca (19:03)
On Chloe Zhao’s Direction:

"Chloe Zhao has real range, and I feel like we're just beginning to understand what that actually means." — Rebecca (12:27)
On the Power of Grief Depicted:

“All art is trying to manipulate us.” — Vanessa (38:10)
Describing the Ending’s Hope:

“There is this beautiful understanding of, like, your grief is not my grief, but it is both grief. And I see you and you see me...I was sad, but it was also this really hopeful sadness.” — Vanessa (55:00)

Timestamps for Important Segments

[04:35] — Episode proper begins, Rebecca introduces Vanessa and jumps into Hamnet film discussion.
[06:45] — Initial emotional responses; audience “sobbing in cars.”
[08:05] — Brief on historical Shakespeare, Hamnet, and family backstory.
[12:15] — Praise for Chloe Zhao’s direction and the film’s lush look.
[14:05] — How the adaptation structures time and narrative.
[14:57] — Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal’s performances.
[18:37] — The collective catharsis: audience responses and “tissue moments.”
[24:37] — Hollywood additions: scenes referencing Shakespeare’s famous lines.
[28:08] — Adaptation as interpretation: choices in focus and structure.
[31:01] — Transition to discussing “grief porn” discourse.
[39:50] — Art, emotional manipulation, and the realism/earnestness of grief in Hamnet.
[44:21] — Favorite moments and production anecdotes.
[47:03] — Max Richter’s music and impact.
[52:51] — Who should see this film—a movie for the “feeling person.”
[56:14] — Strong encouragement to see Hamnet in a theater.

Final Thoughts

Rebecca and Vanessa conclude that the Hamnet adaptation is a rare and beautiful film—emotionally devastating but ultimately hopeful and healing. An example of how great art invokes real feeling, it is an experience best shared in the communal silence and collective catharsis of a darkened theater. The film is for fans of the book, lovers of Shakespeare, those interested in explorations of grief, and anyone seeking an immersive piece of cinematic art that is both lush and intimate.

Recommendation:
Go see Hamnet in a theater. Bring tissues. Let yourself feel it.

Additional Resources Mentioned

Even as a Shadow, Even as a Dream — Photobook by Agata Brzkowska, with lyrical contributions from Jessie Buckley and Chloe Zhao
“Zero to Well Read” — Book Riot podcast feed with a Hamnet book deep-dive episode

For more Book Riot Podcasts and content:
bookriot.com/listen
Patreon: patreon.com/bookriot

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Transcript

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Rebecca Schinsky (0:59)

This is the Book Riot Podcast. I'm Rebecca Schinsky and I'm joined today by Book Riot's Managing editor, Vanessa Diaz. We have both had the pleasure, privilege and sob fest experience of seeing the Hamnet adaptation. Thanks to friends at Focus Features for getting Vanessa access to a screening out in Portland and I was able to see it here in a theater in Richmond last week. And we are going to talk about the adaptation. We've done an episode of Hamnet specifically about the book over in the zero to well Read feed. If you want to take a deep dive into the book, you can hop over there, but we're going to get into the movie on its own. How is it as a work of adaptation, some key differences between the book and the movie, and some of the discourse that's been happening around the film. We'll wrap up with talking about who the movie is for, you know, what kind of viewer is going to like or appreciate the experience, and we'll try to start with some spoiler free stuff at the top, but before we jump in, we'll just take our first ad break.

Rebecca Schinsky (2:10)

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Rebecca Schinsky (12:27)

I mean, Chloe Zhao has real range, and I feel like we're just beginning to understand what that actually means and what it could mean for the future. I don't want to stray too much right now into book versus movie things, but I think it is helpful for folks going into the movie to know that the book starts off when Hamnet and Judith, his twin sister, are 11, and Judith has come down with the plague first. And we are looking through Hamnet's point of view as he's, like, searching for his mother and then running through town trying to find a doctor. He knows that his sister is sick, and he's trying to save her. And that's what I was curious, like, is the movie going to open this way? Will it do a lot of, like, grounding exposition about the world that we're living in first? And I think that Zhao and Ofarrel were really wise to flip it. And where the movie. Where the book moves back and forth in time a whole lot. The movie is a pretty linear timeline. So we start with Anges coming out of the forest with a kestrel on her arm and, like, twigs in her hair. And William, who, by the way, is not named in the book. He's never named. He's referred to as the son, the husband, the father, the tutor, the. Yeah, exactly right. In the movie, he's the not. Like, his name is not spoken aloud until very near the end when he's already become William Shakespeare. But we see them falling in. We see them meet, we see them fall in love. We see them have their first child and then her give birth to the twins. And it just. It moves through that progression right up to Hamnet's death and their grief over it. And it ends with the production of Hamlet, and they're in the Globe Theater. Like, it's. It just a. It's. The whole thing is gorgeous, start to finish, and so carefully detailed and richly detailed. I've. I used the word lush like, 25 times in a zero to well read episode because Ofarrel's descriptions of the world they live in are just so. Just complete. And I also, like you. I wondered, like, how will she Translate that onto film. How this, like, detailed interiority, how does it come across? But there's an intimacy to the book and an intimacy to the movie that I do think that they captured really beautifully. Jessie Buckley is a wonder.

Vanessa Diaz (48:22)

So. So me. But it is like. And I encourage you to go listen to it if you haven't. It is just this really beautiful, string heavy song that it starts really, really deep, Deep, like, basic tone. And the minute I heard it, I. I in the theater went, oh, no. Because I was like, oh, this is. This is the end. Like, I'm going to sob. It has played in iconic episodes of T. It was part of the Arrival soundtrack. It played in that really beautiful episode about Frank and Bill on the Last of Us. Like, it's just the song that a lot of people choose. You want to feel a thing. And that episode ruined me, right? For good reason. And that also plays there. So he ended up. He did the whole score. And the reason he was chosen for, or that that last song anyway, was chosen for that scene, which again, was not written that way, both musically or in its actual, like, text, was because Jessie Buckley was feeling a little frustrated after four days of filming and was driving when that song came on a podcast. And she says it cracked something open in her. And she was like, hey, Chloe Zhao, like, we need to include, like, I. I figured out how I'm gonna do this last seat. And everybody was like, yep, cool, let's do it. Let's rewrite the whole thing. And it is so beautiful. The whole Score, now that I know it's him, makes so much sense. Like that that particular song is from an album that he wrote in 2004 as a form of protest against the invasion of Iraq. And he was specifically wanted to write a song that used, like, really dark sounds and materials to make something light. He calls it like a palindrome. So, anyway, the music is really brilliant. And like, I think I mentioned earlier that he does include some Easter eggs where he uses that Kithara harp in the scene with Orpheus, Eurydice. He samples a lot of actual Elizabethan era instruments to kind of mirror what's going on. Including, I just love the names of them, the Hurdy Gurdy and the Nickel Harp, which were just fun to say. He used a lot of choral music that only had women's voices because he wanted that to sort of mirror the importance of the woman and, like, really tapping into, like, this is an Anya story, which it is. It just is. So all of that brilliant information, plus just the beauty of the work that he. And apparently he did a lot of it, just within 30 minutes of reading the script was like, oh, I know. I want to go with this is just really adds to the emotional gut punch in a way that, again, I heard that song, I was like, oh, no. Like, this is about to be so bad. But it was such a beautiful scene and I am going to go watch it just to feel something.