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

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