Hamnet is a historical fantasy that speculates on the origin of the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Since no one was there and there are no accounts of what really happened, it’s pretty much pure fantasy. While historic fantasy is not that uncommon, I find myself a little uncomfortable with some of it. While books and series like The Man in the High Castle are historic fantasy, everyone knows that they’re make-believe because everyone knows that Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire did not win World War II. With something like Hamnet, it’s so close to reality, I fear that people will take it as gospel, and instead of remaining historical fantasy, it will become history. But that’s just my concern, and no one really cares.

I try to avoid actually discussing movie plots when I do these reviews because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, so all I’ll say is that a number of unpleasant things happen to Shakespeare, his wife, and family, and the movie speculates that the writing of Hamlet served as a means of catharsis for Shakespeare. That’s the premise, but like I said earlier, no one really knows.

The movie is well-executed, the environment is beautiful, and the acting is fine, but the majority of the story is pretty depressing and may not be for everyone. My wife went into this expecting something more along the lines of Shakespeare in Love, and while she liked the movie, it was not the pleasant outing that she was looking for.

For me, the problem is that I’m just not into Shakespeare. I know, I should be ashamed of myself. There’s little doubt that he’s probably one of the most important figures in literature, and his contributions have shaped all modern storytelling, and I won’t argue any of that. I just can’t read his work. I’ve tried, but every word is painful for me. I don’t know Old English, and I have little desire to learn it. Even if I take it word by word and understand what he’s saying, it has little emotional impact on me since the decoding process is so slow and painful. So I’ll trust the opinion of others on this one and spend my time on other things that work for me.

For what it’s worth, the movie was nominated for nine Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design, Best Casting, and Best Original Score.

Ultimately, only one award was won, with Jessie Buckley winning for Best Actress. She does an excellent job with the part, and while I’m not in a position to judge, since I haven’t seen all the nominated movies, I suspect she was a good choice.

Summing it up. It’s a well-executed, somewhat depressing but entertaining movie that might not be for everyone.

When our local theater was still open, movie-going was pretty much a weekly event.  Even if there was a movie playing we knew little about or had gotten mixed reviews, we’d go to see it.  Mostly, we went because the venue also served food, so even if the movie was marginal, we still got to enjoy a meal and get out of the house.  Sadly, the theater has closed, and although there has been some talk about resurrecting it, I suspect it will never happen.  Unfortunately, the audiences just aren’t there, money is tight for a lot of people, and for this particular theater, there’s practically no parking in the area.  I expect that this place will go the way of my old hometown theater.  The building will sit empty for years and deteriorate over time until it reaches a point where too much money would be required to restore it.  It’s sad to see all these old places close down, but times change.

Anyway, back to the movie.  

I had listened to the Project Hail Mary audiobook when it first came out, and I loved it.  It’s a really special book with a strong, engaging story, great narration, and sound effects that bring the story to life.  I liked the book so much that I just didn’t see any way that the movie could live up to it.  And I was right.  The movie wasn’t quite as good as the book, but it’s really close.

Project Hail Mary is a hard story to bring to the screen.  It’s a complex story, filled with technical puzzles and intricate details.  Since film is mostly a visual medium, the story isn’t really a good fit for the screen, yet somehow the director pulled it off.  The movie does a good job telling the story; it’s suspenseful, holds the viewer’s interest as the backstory unfolds alongside the main story, and it’s visually beautiful.  It’s very much worth seeing.

Before we saw it, I was somewhat concerned that the story’s complexity would make it hard for someone who hadn’t read the book to fully understand it, but if my wife is any indication, that’s not the case.  Outside of missing one detail in the plot, she pretty much understood everything that was going on and really enjoyed the movie.

So go out and see the movie, and while you’re at it, get the audiobook.  As good as the movie is, the audiobook is even better, and I think you’ll find both very enjoyable.