We’ve seen a bunch of films over the last year – some good, some less so. But none have been as powerful as Hamnet. This no-holes-barred historical drama chronicles a pre-fame William Shakespeare: his teenage courtship with the older Agnes Hathaway (AKA Anne), their shotgun wedding after he knocked her up, and their early family life with their three sprogs – two daughters and their son, Hamnet.

Hamnet died at the tender age of 11. The film, based on a novel by Maggie O’Farrell, is premised on the notion that back in the day, Hamlet and Hamnet were interchangeable names, and so Hamlet, the Bard’s great tragedy about the doomed prince of Denmark, was inspired by his own profound grief. Is this true? We shall never know, but it’s an intriguing thought.

The film leaves little to the imagination in its depiction of how grim life was back then – cold, wet, dirty and short. And the fact that little is known about Agnes gives licence to the writers to inject a little hubble, bubble, toil and trouble (to misquote Macbeth) into her reimagined white witch persona. Shakespeare in Love, it ain’t.

The performances by Jessie Buckley (Agnes) and Paul Mescal (Will) are stellar, and it’s odds on the film will be lavished with gongs galore. It’s already picked up Best Film and Best Actress (for Buckley) at this year’s Golden Globes. And Buckley is red hot favourite for the Oscars. But for me, the real standout performance is from Jacobi Jupe as the boy Hamnet – a remarkable young star in the making. And how can he fail with a luvvie name like that?

Cue the trailer…