Paul Mescal’s New Historical Drama Is a Rotten Tomatoes Hit(Photo Credit –Facebook)
Advertisement
After venturing into superhero territory with the underwhelming Marvel film Eternals in 2021, Academy Award-winning writer-director Chloé Zhao has made a glorious comeback with her latest feature. Get ready with a box of tissues, because you may need them on December 12, 2025, when the historical drama Hamnet releases nationwide in the U.S.
Starring Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter) and Paul Mescal (Gladiator II) in the lead roles, Hamnet recently premiered at the 2025 edition of the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. The film has already debuted with a stellar critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Read on to find out what the movie is about, how critics are responding, and the fascinating connection it shares with William Shakespeare.
Hamnet – Rotten Tomatoes Score & What Critics Are Saying
Hamnet holds a perfect critics’ score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. It remains to be seen whether it can maintain this stellar rating as more reviews come in. Moreover, on Metacritic, the film currently holds a score of 95/100, indicating ‘Universal Acclaim’.
Some reviewers have called Jessie Buckley’s performance astonishing and magical in Hamnet, while others described the film as a great work of empathy and the best film Chloé Zhao has made by quite a wide margin. Another critic noted that Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal’s performances will bring audiences to tears.
What’s Hamnet All About & The William Shakespeare Connection
Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel of the same name and set in late 16th-century England, the fictional historical drama reimagines the personal life of the legendary playwright William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley). Their lives are torn apart when their 11-year-old son, Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe), suddenly falls ill and dies, leaving the family consumed by grief. The film explores themes of love and loss, while reflecting on how this tragedy may have influenced Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.
Hamnet vs. Chloe Zhao’s Other Films – Rotten Tomatoes Scores Compared
In comparison to Hamnet, here is how earlier films directed by Chloe Zhao performed on Rotten Tomatoes:
Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2016) – 94%
The Rider (2018) – 97%
Nomadland (2021) – 93%
Eternals (2021) – 47%
No other Chloe Zhao film has matched the perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score.
![HAMNET - Official Teaser Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters Thanksgiving](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/E2xtmPkuksA/hqdefault.jpg)