This above all: to thine own self be true. Well, here goes. Hamnet produces stunningly emotive moments of heartache and sorrow over the loss of a child, but drawn-out early scenes linger too long.

Chloé Zhao directs a fictional account that suggests Hamlet, William Shakespeare’s longest play (written around 1599 - 1601), was based on the death of his eleven-year-old son Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe). Hamlet and Hamnet were interchangeable names during the time period. Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s novel of the same name, Hamnet focusses on the grief of his parents Will (Paul Mescal) and Agnes (Jessie Buckley).

Agnes and Will fall quickly in love after meeting in Stratford-upon-Avon, where Will is tutoring to repay debts owed by his bullying father. Agnes is a forester at heart. She spends time in the woods with a pet hawk and her idiosyncrasies appear to others as witchcraft. Buckley emits a fragrance of fire burn and cauldron bubble energy, but Will doesn’t care. He is in love. They will become hand-fasted and he won’t abide anything else.

The first part of Hamnet is, at times, wearisome. Agnes’ character is quickly developed, but hocus-pocus scenes, such as the dark voids in the woods and ill omens of childbirth, more than hint at a looming tragedy. But fair is foul and foul is fair. These scenes are an opportunity for cinematographer Łukasz Żal (who shot Oscar-nominated Ida and Zone of Interest) to capture the beauty of nature in the forest and rawness of grief with his close-ups of Agnes and Will.

Before the heart-wrenching loss, Will’s world becomes thunder and lightning (is’t not the common lot when one doth dwell in Stratford-upon-Avon?). Agnes, with her third-eye, knows that he must reside in London to realise his literary dreams. It’s while Will is away that tragedy strikes Hamnet and Buckley’s display of despair takes on a life of its own. If Mescal is very good in Hamnet, then Buckley is spectacular. Her prolonged and painful wail as Hamnet passes is a truly haunting part of the movie.

The couple naturally struggle to process their grief and Agnes is disgusted with Will as he leaves for London so soon after their tragedy. In his isolation, we observe a smattering of shots to show Will’s loss; to be or not to be, he soliloquises as he teeters on jumping into the Thames. Agnes learns that Will’s new play is a tragedy titled Hamlet. Not a comedy, as she was first told. In anger, confusion and curiosity, she travels to London to fathom Will’s actions.

Here, with Żal’s beautiful imagery of the Globe Theatre, an emotive and powerful catharsis takes place as Will’s own display of grief is performed on stage through the play. Max Richter’s composition circles the audience (and nudges the viewers’ emotions) as Hamlet’s performance (performed by Noah Jupe, the older brother of Jacobi) evokes the spirit of Agnes’ departed son. We witness a devastated Will, alone and finally releasing his own sorrow.

Hamnet can move slowly at times, but the despair Buckley displays in losing a child, Mescal’s final performance and their journey with grief produce a profoundly emotive and striking movie.