Majority of Chloe Zhao's Hamnet feels long, slow paced, and at times plain old cumbersome. A story of a man (Paul Mescal) and woman, Agnes (Jessie Buckley), who meet in the opening minutes and proceed to share a kiss felt strange for a story set in late sixteenth century. I kept thinking, does Zhao care at all about building up this romance?
Long, slow moving scenes follow, during which the man and woman fornicate (also way too early in their courtship), and eventually - despite the man's family's objections - marry. They have two children, Judith and Hamnet. When Judith contracts the Black Plague, the brave Hamnet somehow extracts his sister's sickness onto himself, dying as a result. Agnes is devastated, as is the father, who's spends most of his time in London, writing plays for the stage.
Jessie Buckley is a sensation in this movie. If she doesn't win the Best Actress Oscar, then the award should be retired, and the ceremony never broadcast again. Yet despite my overall dissatisfaction with the movie's story (it is rather weak; I also tried reading Maggie O'Farrell's novel that it was based on, and found it equally exhausting), the final scene, involving the presentation of William Shakespeare's play (only late in the movie do we learn the husband's true identity) in front of a fascinated audience, saves and ultimately makes the movie. Buckley's quiet reaction of imagining her son finally finding peace is moving to the max, encapsulating a mediocre screenplay to a heartfelt conclusion.
☆☆☆
No comments:
Post a Comment