I’m Trevor with the Sasquatch Movie Minute and we are running down my ranking of the 10 nominees for Oscars BEST PICTURE 2025.

 

#3 is HAMNET, directed by Chloe Zhao, starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal

 

A heart-breaking and deeply emotional exploration of art’s power to process grief, this film is about Agnes Shakespeare and her journey while her famous playwright husband writes Hamlet. This is a hard film to watch; the middle section details a tragedy so immediate and visceral that it is uncomfortable. As if we were actually party to this anguish. But the cathartic release of emotion is ecstatic. Zhao’s camerawork, similar to her craft in NOMADLAND, is focused on earthy grounded country that emphasizes the eternal nature of these stories.

 

Best Scene. The ending. Its when all the threads come together and culminate in a staggering production of Hamlet. The music swells and all the grief, and awe, and cleansing power of art reveals a path through pain. As someone who has been part of play productions, this hit deeply. That last bit, from when someone says ‘Look at me,’ I was sobbing and utterly transfixed.

 

Performance. This is an obvious Oscar win for Jessie Buckley. She is ferociously raw and earthy and nuanced, finding power and quietness in her character, her modulations born of righteous confidence in her talent. Pascal was robbed of a nomination here, his work is tender and lovely. I was deeply moved by the performance of the son, Jacobi Jupe, he broke my damn heart. His boyish all-consuming love for his dad reminded me so much of my own child and how blessed I am to receive that.

 

I’m not sure I could watch this again, but this is a beautiful stunning work that should be seen by all fans of filmmaking.