The Big Picture — December 12, 2025

Episode: ‘Hamnet’ and the 10 Best Performances of 2025. Plus: Kleber Mendonça Filho on ‘The Secret Agent.’

Hosts: Sean Fennessey (A), Amanda Dobbins (B)

Guest: Joanna Robinson (C)

Filmmaker Interview: Kleber Mendonça Filho (D)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into two of the year’s most acclaimed films—Chloé Zhao's adaptation of Hamnet and Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent—as well as a robust discussion of the year’s 10 best performances (with lists from each host and guest). Sean, Amanda, and Joanna review Hamnet's impact on contemporary cinema, its artistic strengths and flaws, and its awards chances, before turning to an in-depth filmmaker interview with Filho. The episode is rich in passionate debates, emotional insights about the movies and performances, and plenty of behind-the-scenes anecdotes from screenings and awards season buzz.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

I. Opening Banter & Movie News ([00:14]–[12:56])

• Spielberg’s New Film ("Disclosure") Teased
  • A mysterious billboard announces Spielberg’s new potential blockbuster, Disclosure, rumored (though debunked) to be a quasi-sequel to Close Encounters ([01:45]–[05:13]).
    • Amanda: “I appreciate a date. As you know, I'm a planner...so thank you for the specificity.” ([03:18])
  • Spirited jokes about billboards, Times Square, physical media, and the mythic "king of 4Ks" moment ([03:35]–[04:17]).
  • Joanna on Spielberg: “I think it's fun that there's mystery around it.” ([04:30])
• Trailer Reaction: Supergirl in the DCU
  • The trio analyze the just-released Supergirl trailer, with tepid excitement for Millie Alcock’s casting and skepticism about the film’s originality and emotional depth.
  • Sean: “It looks kind of standard, which is not what you want.” ([08:37])
  • Amanda: “The more we got into the lore...the more interested I am in a novel.” (on superhero fatigue) ([11:48])
  • Bit of a side tangent about fictional elements like adamantium, vibranium, and “whale brain juice,” exemplifying the show’s loose, referential tone.

II. Hamnet In-Depth Review ([12:56]–[49:12])

Context & Approach ([12:56]–[15:42])

• Directed by Chloé Zhao, adapting Maggie O’Farrell’s novel about the Shakespeare family, focusing on the death of their son Hamnet and its artistic/psychological fallout.
• Sean confesses to knowing little of the actual Shakespeare biography, entering the film “without expectations.”
• Shot by Lucas Zahl, scored by Max Richter, and starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.

Critical Perspectives

Joanna Robinson ([15:58])

• Praises Hamnet for capturing the communal, transcendent power of theater—makes a strong case for its importance, while stating it's “not the best movie” of the year but “the most important for the conversation about going to the movies.”
  • She expresses concern the film is being made to sound too “high-arc” and unapproachable.
    • "What I think this movie has to say about the universal idea of grief and...how we use art to process that is really accessible." ([16:33])

Amanda Dobbins ([18:04])

• Found the first hour 'resistant,' especially due to “woo woo energy” in both character and filmmaking; at times, the grief theme is “very tell, don’t show.”
• But: “The ending is spectacularly moving… I have ugly cried both times...once they are in the Globe Theatre, it's really amazing stuff.” ([18:04])
• Acknowledges the final 30 minutes are “primal” and effective even after multiple viewings.

Sean Fennessey ([20:56])

• Echoes Amanda’s feelings: “The first hour a crushing bore...Zhao applying her filmmaking style...felt like she was trying to get her arms around a more traditional Hollywood prestige movie.”
• But the “final 20 minutes is just this absolute sledgehammer...to garner emotion is not to be overlooked.”

Key Scene Analysis

• The "Globe scene": cited by all as a near-universally powerful, communal moviegoing emotional experience ([23:31], [37:06])
• Standout performance by Jessie Buckley, described as “primal” and “elemental,” more than a character study ([27:41])
• Some criticism of the didactic, literal approach (e.g., “the rest is silence” moments; Shakespeare quotes) ([28:41])

Notable Quotes

• Amanda: “...If I had to see that tree one more time, I was gonna light myself on fire...It is a movie about grief...very post-psychology, post-therapy...” ([19:07])
• Sean: “If you can catch me, you can catch me, and that matters to me.” ([22:05])
• Joanna (on Buckley and Mescal): “[Their performances are] very primal. They don't feel like fully formed characters...that works on me.” ([27:41])

On Awards Chances

• Jessie Buckley’s awards momentum is “not cemented” ([40:37]); Rose Byrne and Chase Infinity seen as challengers ([43:11]). The film is expected to place broadly but Buckley’s Best Actress win is “less certain” than expected.

Memorable Moments & Anecdotes

• Sean shares a vivid story of the emotional impact of the film being interrupted at a critical moment by a theater emergency alarm ([34:15])—underscoring the movie’s power to move an audience communally.
• Joanna’s heartful defense: “If you see it in a theater with other people, this movie has you and Jessie has you...Jesse makes the case for herself.” ([41:02])

On the Max Richter Score

• The use of “On the Nature of Daylight” is debated—acknowledged as both “dirty pool” (Joanna, [38:20]) but also extremely effective.
  • Joanna: “But Jessie Buckley said...she was listening to that track...there was at least a slightly honest, organic way in which it came into the mix.” ([38:51])

Craft & Performances

• Strong praise for supporting work, especially Noah Jupe, and the camera’s deliberate style (“Zone of Interest was a huge inspo,” [46:33]).

III. Interview: Kleber Mendonça Filho on The Secret Agent ([107:27]–[145:43])

Life at the Movies

• Filho shares warm, specific memories of experiencing movie palaces in Recife as a child in the 1970s ([107:53]–[111:14]).
  • “Not only do I remember the films I saw at the time, but I also remember the films I never saw at the time...I would see the posters and the lobby cards, and that really played with one's imagination.” ([109:17])

On the Making of The Secret Agent

• Set in 1977 Brazil—a year of personal and political upheaval for the filmmaker.
• Traces parallel between The Secret Agent and his prior film (Pictures of Ghosts): “They're very different films, but they're very close in heart.” ([113:12])
• Emphasis on genre influences (Carpenter, De Palma, Spielberg) and Brazilian/Australian cinema of the '70s ([115:06]).
• Blending of documentary and fiction: “You can use artifice and genre conventions, but still come up with an idea which is very honest and very truthful about life...” ([116:11])

Craft Details

• Split diopter shots and formal flourishes are both homage and deliberate style (“I love them...if you use them in the right place” [120:49])
• Mendes provides a spontaneous, organic approach to mood and “dread”: not schematic, but intuitive ([117:24]–[119:24])
• On Wagner Moura: written especially for him, after years of mutual admiration ([128:49])

Themes

• Juxtaposition of brutality and affection, often in the same frame ([133:22])
• The Udo Kier sequence—filming with the late legend (“I feel so lucky...he had this sarcastic humor...I miss him.” [137:27])
• Observations on the Holocaust, Jewish history in Recife, and identity ([139:02])

Awards & Recognition

• Filho reflects on being swept into the international awards machinery: “It feels good...But I'm in good spirits and I'm happy. It's what I asked Santa Claus way back then.” ([142:04], [143:23])

Favorite Recent Film ([144:23])

• Jeanne Dielman (Akerman) restoration: “It really felt like I had spent a full week with that woman in that apartment.” ([145:05])

IV. The Hosts’ 10 Best Performances of 2025 ([54:31]–[106:32]; scattered throughout; summarized here)

Each host/guest lists 10 (sometimes grouped) favorite acting performances of 2025, spanning leads, supporting, and scene stealers in both high art and popcorn movies.

Notable Picks (with timestamped quotes)

• Jessie Buckley, Hamnet (Multiple, [102:29]):
  • Joanna: “I just want to cement how I feel about her performance...tremendous.”
• Chase Infinity, One Battle After Another (Sean, [65:06]):
  • “It’s pretty amazing...the movie effectively becoming hers.”
• Robert Pattinson, Mickey 17 (Amanda, [68:54]):
  • “He has to do a lot...I find this man incredibly watchable...I like that he did it.”
• Josh O’Connor, multiple films (Sean & Amanda, [74:01]):
  • “His range is pretty cool to watch right now...just by randomness of the schedule, a guy gets to be in four movies at one time.” (Sean)
• Keke Palmer & SZA, One of Them Days (Amanda, [72:55]):
  • “Keke Palmer...is like driving the film...chemistry that she has with Sza, who's so charming and is, like, driving the film, is very special. They're great together.”
• Tom Burke, Black Bag (Amanda, [76:21])
• A$AP Rocky, Highest to Lowest and If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You (Sean, [88:37])
• Dylan O’Brien, Twinless (Joanna, [90:05]):
  • “You don't appreciate how good one role is until you see the second role...really, just sort of complement and highlight each other.”
• Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Anne Lynn (Sean, [94:26]):
  • “She’s amazing in this movie. This movie is ridiculous in a good way...her commitment is why the movie works.”
• Timothée Chalamet, Marnie Supreme (Sean & Amanda, [102:50])
  • Amanda: “Yeah, it's Timmy. We share a number one.”
  • Sean: “He is literally talking about the intersection between sports and entertainment. That's a theme of Marnie Supreme...Marnie is amazing.”

V. Memorable Quotes & Moments

On Hamnet

• Amanda (on Chloe Zhao’s style): “And respectfully, if I had to see that tree one more time, I was gonna light myself on fire.” ([19:07])
• Sean: “If you can catch me, you can catch me, and that matters to me.” ([22:05])
• Joanna: “What I think this movie has to say about...how we use art to process that is really accessible.” ([16:33])
• On Max Richter’s emotional manipulation: Joanna: “Dirty pool!” ([38:20])

On the Theatrical Experience

• Joanna: “Heartbreak feels good in a place like this. You know what I mean?” ([23:31])
• Sean (after an interrupted screening): “The movie has been...effectively ruined for these people, I would say.” ([35:09])

On Year in Performances

• Amanda: “There is something charming about how just everyone clearly feels the same way. And he's in four movies. He's in every single TikTok. People are bringing him Ratatouille gifts on the red carpet.” (on Josh O’Connor, [93:01])
• Sean: “It's always exciting when a new person arrives and can take a movie away from...Leonardo DiCaprio.” (on Chase Infinity, [66:41])

On Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Mission

• Filho: “You can use artifice and genre conventions, but still come up with an idea which is very honest and very truthful about life and about people and about the world.” ([116:11])
• Filho: “Filmmaking is the whole nine yards...I feel lucky to be able to meet so many people and get so many reactions.” ([142:04])

VI. Timestamps Guide to Major Segments

• [00:14] — Show open, Hamnet intro
• [01:45] — Spielberg/“Disclosure” billboard news
• [06:17] — Supergirl trailer & DCU conversation
• [12:56] — Hamnet review and deep-dive
• [46:33] — Discussion of Lucas Zahl and shot composition
• [49:12] — Pivot to The Secret Agent
• [54:31] — Top 10 performances segment begins
• [107:27] — Interview with Kleber Mendonça Filho

Conclusion / Final Thoughts

This episode of The Big Picture offers an uncommonly rich, nuanced film conversation: mixing gut-level reactions, craft detail, and reflections on culture, career, and the state of the art. The discussion of Hamnet is especially revealing not just for its direct critical appraisal, but for its context within an awards season marked by communal grief, a shifting industry, and arguments over how best to sell “capital I Important” movies to everyday audiences.

Kleber Mendonça Filho’s interview is a highlight, sharing candid observations and emotional moments from his personal and professional journey. The top performances segment provides a wide-ranging, witty look at the year in film, celebrating both crowd-pleasers and more daring indie work.

For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In:

You’ll get the year’s most thoughtful groupthink on Hamnet, a sneak peek at an Oscar race in flux, an evocative interview with an international auteur, and a feast of acting superlatives—plus plenty of big laughs, running jokes, and cinephile camaraderie.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• “What I think this movie has to say about the universal idea of grief and...how we use art to process that is really accessible.” — Joanna, [16:33]
• “Once Jessie Buckley reaches her hand out and then everybody reaches their hand out, I was like, well, there is something very primal here. Like, I'm gone.” — Amanda, [37:06]
• “You can use artifice and genre conventions, but still come up with an idea which is very honest and very truthful about life...” — Kleber Mendonça Filho, [116:11]
• “Dirty pool!” — Joanna, on Max Richter’s score, [38:20]

End of Summary.