Eternals Director’s New Paul Mescal Film Earns Rave Reviews and a Stellar Rotten Tomatoes Score
Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet is drawing raves and a standout Rotten Tomatoes score, with Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley leading a vivid, intimate portrait of Agnes and William Shakespeare’s marriage. Early acclaim has turned the drama into one of the season’s buzziest releases.
Chloe Zhao has a new one, and it is not subtle. 'Hamnet' is getting a wave of strong early notices, the kind that kick up awards chatter before most people have even seen a frame. If you like your period dramas messy, intimate, and emotionally punishing, this sounds like it.
The basics
- What it is: Zhao's drama about the marriage of Agnes and William Shakespeare, and how the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet, cracks that relationship wide open.
- Who is in it: Jessie Buckley as Agnes, Paul Mescal as Shakespeare.
- Critical temperature: Largely glowing with a notable outlier.
- Scores right now: 87% on Rotten Tomatoes from 86 reviews; a 90 on Metacritic.
- Release date: November 26, 2025. Yes, that is far off, so expect a long runway of buzz.
What the critics are actually saying
Mashable's Kristy Puchko is all-in, calling it a major awards-season contender and crediting Zhao for crafting something more grounded and lyrical than a simple prestige sob-fest. She also says Buckley and Mescal spark in the flirtation phase and go full detonation once grief and distance set in.
"Hamnet could leave you tear-soaked and in tatters."
Not everyone is swooning. The San Francisco Chronicle's Mick LaSalle likes how the movie gives Agnes a vivid inner life, but he thinks the story runs out of gas halfway through. When it pivots to connecting dots with 'Hamlet,' he finds it sappy and, worse, nonsensical. He still singles out Buckley and the production design for praise, so it is not a total takedown.
Time Out's Phil de Semlyen goes the other way, dubbing the movie a 'Tudor tearjerker' and arguing Buckley and Mescal are delivering career-best work. He says it digs into the story behind 'Hamlet' and then pushes past that into something larger.
Scores and release timing
As of now, 'Hamnet' is sitting at 87% on Rotten Tomatoes from 86 reviews, with a stout 90 on Metacritic. The catch: you will be waiting a minute. Focus is bringing it to theaters on November 26, 2025, which means the hype has a long time to percolate. If you are keeping an eye on this awards season, pencil it in as one of the big, emotional swings.