Saturday Night at the Movies

Last weekend Alejandro and I went to the cinema at the mall near his house to see a movie that I have been waiting to see.  Although it premiered in the United States in November, it was not until last week that the critically acclaimed movie "Hamnet" came to movie houses here in Mexico City.

 

(image taken from the internet)

Little is known about the personal life of William Shakespeare.  The best-selling novel "Hamnet" by Maggie O'Farrell and this screen adaptation speculate on the relationship between Shakespeare and his wife and his children, particularly his only son Hamnet.  The novel and movie also speculate as to whether Hamnet inspired the Bard to write his masterpiece "Hamlet".  (The movie begins with an explanation that the names "Hamnet" and "Hamlet" were interchangeable in that era.)

The movie has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress.  It has already won Golden Globe awards for Best Motion Picture - Drama, and Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama.

For anyone who has not yet seen the movie, I am not going to give anything away.  However, the accolades are well deserved.  It will not appeal to those whose taste favors fast-paced action movies or cartoon superheroes.  But for those who like serious drama and / or historical films, it is a powerful piece of filmmaking.  The actress who plays Shakespeare's wife, Jessie Buckley, is a stand out.  I must admit that I had never heard of her, but if she does not win an Oscar as Best Actress if will be robbery.

One thing that confused me was that Shakespeare's wife is named Agnes.  I had always learned that his was was Anne Hathaway.  I did a bit of research afterwards, and learned that at that time Agnes and Anne were interchangeable names (as were Hamnet and Hamlet).  The author of the novel chose to use Agnes because that is the name by which her father called her.

Coincidentally, I happen to have the novel sitting on my bookshelf, waiting to be read.  It will be interesting to compare the book to the novel, but since the author, Maggie O'Farrell collaborated on the screenplay, I would expect the film to be faithful to the book.

If you have not yet seen "Hamnet", I highly recommend it!