Hamnet (2025)

For all of the praise heaped upon it, and all of the love it has already received, I found myself not enjoying Hamnet, for the most part. I was impressed by the lead performances, both Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal are excellent, but I wasn't particularly invested in it, or moved by the painful core of it. Or so I thought. Then something happened near the very end of the film and I was in tears, the entire essence of the film unfurling in front of me like some flower coming into bloom. I don't know if others will feel the same way, but I encourage you all to have patience with this until the very end.

Buckley plays Agnes, a woman who weds a certain William Shakespeare (Mescal). After an intense and secretive start to their relationship, things must progress quickly when Agnes becomes pregnant. Agnes is eventually left for periods of time to look after their children while Shakespeare spends time in London seeing if he can make any kind of living from this writing lark. Not present for the death of his son, Shakespeare seems unable to console and support his wife, and she's not even sure how impacted he is by the event. But it turns out that he is devastated, and tries to convey his emotions in a play that explores grief and family, and also happens to be one of the best ever written.

Based on the novel by Maggie O'Farrell, who helped to adapt it into screenplay form with director Chloé Zhao, Hamnet is a decent enough film, for the most part, until it sneaks up to you and delivers a one-two gut punch in the third act. Hearing very familiar quotes completely reframed by new context that the story focuses on makes everything feel more emotional and resonant, and the destination makes the uneven journey completely worthwhile. I still wouldn't consider this quite as praiseworthy as many others would, but it's certainly worth watching at least once.

Mescal and Buckley are both as good as you'd expect, the latter being recognised for her performance with a number of awards already. The character isn't a million miles away from others that she tends to play though, but she's consistently great, particularly when it comes to the moments that require her to be wracked with real heartache. Mescal has to work around a couple of moments that deliver "Shakespeare 101" soundbites, but certainly looks and feels absolutely right playing such a literary icon. Emily Watson and David Wilmot both excel as the senior Shakespeares, with Watson becoming warmer and more considerate as she accepts her son becoming his own man, and Joe Alwyn is welcome in his small role, playing Bartholomew (brother of Agnes). All of the younger cast members also do well, although the focus is on Jacobi Jupe in the titular role.

Very good, but not great, yet it has one truly memorable moment that moved me more than anything else I have watched in the past year. I could see other people sneering at it though, which would leave the film with very little else to offer them. I have to figure out if that one moment is enough to elevate the entire film, but I don't think it is. The feature is decidedly okay, if a bit overlong and lacking any decent flow, so it all averages out to still being very good. And still being not great.

7/10

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Netflix And Chill: The Water Horse (2007)

Directed by Jay Russell, who doesnt have too many titles standing out from his filmography, and written by Robert Nelson Jacobs, who has a similarly thin selection of memorable features under his belt, The Water Horse is perhaps best sold on the name of the author of the book it is adapted from, Dick King-Smith. King-Smith was a prolific and successful writer of children's books, and gave us the source material for what would become the wonderful Babe.

There is another major selling point here though, the gorgeous scenery of Scotland, but maybe that's my own bias showing through. I don't know though, it's hard to think of anyone looking out over Loch Ness and not being at least slightly awe-struck.

Yes, this is a Loch Ness story, and the titular creature is the Loch Ness "monster". The year is 1942, and a young boy named Angus MacMorrow (Alex Etel) is struggling with the fact that his father doesn't seem to be returning from the war. Angus lives in a large house with his mother (Anne, played by Emily Watson) and sister (Kirstie, played by Priyanka Xi), and they are soon joined by a large number of soldiers who have been allowed the use of the house by the Lord who owns it. They're also joined by a new handyman on the estate, Lewis (Ben Chaplin). All of this makes things more difficult for Angus as he tries to keep secret the fact that he is looking after a creature that hatched from a large egg he found on the shore of the loch. The creature, named Crusoe, grows at a rapid rate, meaning Angus soon enlists both Kirstie and Lewis to help him, and the sneaking around soon arouses the suspicion of Captain Thomas Hamilton (David Morrissey).

Cute and sweet would be the two words I would use to describe this movie. Framed by a sequence in which a twinkly-eyed Brian Cox relates the tale to a couple of tourists visiting Scotland, it's perfect family entertainment that aims for satisfaction and some tugging on the heartstrings. There are no surprises here, but most viewers won't want any. This is all about a magical feeling, and watching one young boy outwit most of the adults around him as he shows a degree of compassion and belief that many of them lack.

The screenplay by Jacobs is decent enough, and fairly straightforward, but the direction from Russell is complemented by some excellent special effects (both practical and digital), a lovely score by James Newton Howard, and acting from a selection of performers who all pitch things perfectly as they deliver something that manages to be quite innocent and moving without ever feeling too pandering.

Etel is easily able to carry the film on his young shoulders, helped by the fact that he has a number of scenes in which his energy is matched by Crusoe, and not only does everyone else do excellent work, but a number of the main co-stars (Mortimer, Chaplin, and Xi) do well enough at delivering their dialogue in a Scottish accent that didn't hurt my ears or have me wondering if they'd even heard of Scotland before taking on their roles. Morrissey is as good as ever, and becomes more stern and menacing as things come to a head in a finale that will force people to choose where they want to stand in relation to the sense of hope offered by some magic or the cynicism of the ongoing wartime conditions.

Although slightly held back by the lack of any real edge or risk, that also helps to make it the sweet treat that it is. It's not one to recommend as an essential viewing, but I cannot imagine many people checking it out and being disappointed that they gave it 112 minutes of their time. A perfect choice if you're stuck indoors with kids on a dreary day.

7/10

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War Horse (2011)

This Steven Spielberg movie, based on a popular play written by Nick Stafford which was based on the children's book by Michael Morpurgo, is an easy target for critics to take aim and fire at. There's no denying that it has many moments that exemplify the very worst of Spielberg's predilections and there will be many people for whom this is just absolute anathema. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed it.

Peter Mullan plays Ted Narracott, a farmer who doesn't really have much luck in life. Mind you, he doesn't always help himself, like when he decides to outbid his landlord (David Thewlis) for a horse that everyone knows will be of no use to him for ploughing purposes. He gets the horse, but is also indebted to his landlord. It looks grim, grim indeed, but his son, Albert (Jeremy Irvine), has faith in the horse and sets out to prove everyone wrong by leading it around the field and getting it to pull the plough. Sadly, despite the horse showing great tenacity, there's not enough done to keep the farm safe and so Ted sells the horse to an army Captain (Tom Hiddleston). Albert is determined that they'll be reunited one day and he signs up for the army as soon as he's old enough, but there's no guarantee that he'll ever actually see his horse again or, indeed, survive the perils of war.

Yes, it's overloaded with sentiment in places (thanks to Spielberg and the music of John Williams) and yes, there are too many shots with rays of sunlight just providing an aura for the lead characters, thanks to cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, but this is still an enjoyable family adventure that will take you through a range of emotions before the end credits roll.

The best thing about it is the quality of the cast. As well as those already mentioned (Mullan, Thewlis, Irvine, Hiddleston), viewers gets to see the following actors in a variety of small and large roles: Emily Watson, Niels Arestrup, Benedict Cumberbatch, Geoff Bell, Eddie Marsan, Toby Kebbell and Liam Cunningham. Even the lesser-known (and unknown) cast members do a great job, with Celine Buckens making a good impression as young Emilie, a girl who also makes a connection with the titular horse.

There are one or two moments of darker content in the movie, but they're handled with kid gloves and moved aside in plenty of time for the next uplifting sequence. People will accuse the movie of being far too sugary and heavy-handed for its own good and it is, but it's also just a nice, old-fashioned adventure story with plenty of great moments throughout.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/War-Horse-Blu-ray-Region-Free/dp/B00742SSEW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356070669&sr=8-1