Chloé Zhao’s heartbreaking drama Hamnet arrives in cinemas this week, but what songs are included in the film? Find out below.
READ MORE: ‘Hamnet’ review: sob your eyes out to this tragic Shakespeare origin story
The movie is based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Maggie O’Farrell and it depicts the relationship between Agnes Hathaway and William Shakespeare, as portrayed by Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, as they navigate the death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet, an event that ultimately inspired Shakespeare to write Hamlet.
It sees Zhao, who won the Best Director Oscar for Nomadland, return to serious drama after taking on Marvel’s 2021 film Eternals. She has co-written Hamnet alongside O’Farrell, and the film also stars Emily Watson as Shakespeare’s mother Mary and Joe Alwyn as Hathaway’s brother Bartholomew.
Watch the trailer for Hamnet, which is released in UK cinemas on Friday (January 9), here:
In a four-star review of Hamnet, NME wrote: “Zhao’s direction is never quite naturalistic and occasionally feels heavy-handed: in one scene, we see William considering suicide by the River Thames while reciting Hamlet’s familiar “to be or not to be” soliloquy. But there’s no denying this is a powerful portrait of grief driven by a shattering performance from Buckley, who’s currently frontrunner to win Best Actress at this year’s Oscars.”
“The Academy won’t struggle to find an isolated clip of her technical and emotional brilliance, but Hamnet really needs to be experienced in full. It’s a harrowing reminder that tragedy is stalking all of us and can’t be shouldered alone.”
Every song on the Hamnet soundtrack
The film includes a delicate original score from the acclaimed contemporary classical composer Max Richter.
The German-British artist, who was recently awarded a CBE in the New Year’s honours, has worked on film scores regularly over the last two decades, soundtracking movies including James Gray’s Ad Astra (2019), the Adam Sandler space drama Spaceman (2024) and 2018’s Mary Queen Of Scots, starring Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie.
As well as his new compositions, Richter’s 2004 track ‘On The Nature Of Daylight’ is also included during an emotionally climactic scene towards the end of the film. That track has already been memorably used in landmark modern Hollywood classics, including Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island and Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival.
The post Every song on the ‘Hamnet’ soundtrack appeared first on NME.
