Universal
Mescal does a very good, very valiant job in the film, but it is Buckley who turns what could be a soppy slog of a film into such a poignant piece. From the film’s opening moments, Buckley brings a soulfulness and thoughtfulness to Agnes. She’s just a young farm girl at the start – a woodsy sort of girl who shirks any ladylike duties and prefers to spend her time cooing to her hawk in the woods or mixing up herbal remedies with her mortar and pestle.
Agnes has a raw, animalistic connection to Will and his ability to spin a good tale. Throughout all of this, Buckley brings a raw, hungry energy to the role that keeps it from veering into too many witchy woman stereotypes.
Buckley’s performance really shines as we see Agnes harbouring the pain and pleasure of motherhood – first, the brutality of giving birth in the 1500s and, later, the pain of losing a child. Hamnet’s death is one of the most harrowing, gut-wrenching moments on screen this year, thanks to Buckley’s tortured cry. Without saying a word, she evokes the pain of a mother who has lost a child, the joy of a mother recognising something of that lost child onstage, as well as the dawning realisation that her husband has been going through the same grief as she has in a very different way. It’s quietly, poetically epic.
Who is Jessie Buckley?
Could this be Buckley’s year? It very well could and perhaps should be. While she may not be a “big name” like some of the other contenders, she has more than proven herself. And not only in her blistering turn in Hamnet.
Born in Killarney, County Kerry, Buckley first found fame on the show I’d Do Anything in 2008, where she competed for the role of Nancy in Oliver!, finishing in second place. She went onto study at RADA, graduating in 2013.
©Orion Pictures Corp/Courtesy Everett Collection
Jessie Buckley’s career and awards so far
For the past decade, Buckley has been quietly establishing herself as one of her generation’s finest actors. She made her first appearances in British TV fare: Endeavour, Doctor Who and War and Peace. In 2017, she gave a visceral, captivating turn opposite Johnny Flynn in Beast. In 2019, a heartbreaking performance in Chernobyl. In 2020, an anxiety-fuelled trip of a performance in I’m Thinking of Ending Things. Then came her assured turn in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s 2021 The Lost Daughter, a role that earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Oscars. One year later, a Critics’ Choice nod, this time for her sharp, unflinching performance in Women Talking. That same year, she also took home an Olivier award for her electric take on Sally Bowles onstage in Cabaret.
All of this being said, if you haven’t heard of Buckley yet, perhaps you should have – and with a Golden Globe nomination under her belt and the Oscar nominations announced soon after, you will certainly be hearing about her a whole lot in the next few months.