She and her husband had seen Hamnet the night before. I had barely taken my coat off when the unfiltered review of the movie I had just seen came right out of my mouth. I did not cry when young Hamnet finally expired – although, judging by the nose-blowing around me, some people certainly did. Many people who love Hamnet have indeed felt just this way after watching it. As Shakespeare wrote in his most famous monologue, which Mescal quotes in full in Hamnet, “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”

Source: The Irish Times January 26, 2026 15:16 UTC