Hamnet

[DYohn]

We watched the Academy Award nominated film "Hamnet" on some streaming service (don't remember which one.) My personal opinion, which many may disagree with, is this is a boring, terribly shot, poor audio mix, way too dark exercise in attempting to recreate a period for the first 100 minutes. I had to struggle to hear anything as most of the dialog is whispered, I had to struggle to see anything and I almost fell asleep multiple times. But then, in the final act (when Jessie Buckley as Agnes makes it to London to see her husband Shakespear's play) wow, it almost made it all worth the wait. She is brilliant in this final 20-minute scene, and it is a story unto itself. Perhaps I picked up enough of her character through the dark and quiet of the first 2/3 to make the scene more poignant, but it brought tears to these old cynical eyes and joyful laughter at the same time. The rest of the cast is good (and the kid who plays the son Hamnet eats up the screen.) I only wish the first part of this movie had been properly lit and had good sound like the final scene, then I probably would have loved it all.