So far, so woo-woo. And the film explores the same ideals. Hamnet, an adaptation of the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, imagines the lives of William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes, a fiercely independent woman who lives close to nature near the woods. Described as a witch by locals, she “reads” a person by pressing on their palms. Agnes’s lifestyle, as well as the couple’s shared personal griefs, inspire the writer’s greatest work: Shakespeare’s woods are also places of mystery, fairy folklore and magic. Their garden herbarium provides the famous recitation that underscores Ophelia’s grief.