Can’t watch Hamnet

[Anonymous]

I know that it got really good reviews and I really want to watch it but ever since I had kids I can’t watch movies where kids die. It’s so traumatizing and I cry so much I had to stop. Are most other parents like this? I told my DH what the movie was about and he said he couldn’t watch it either.

[Anonymous]

I basically don’t watch anything disturbing. I don’t get why people like true crime. I mostly watch romances, comedies, nature documentaries and once in awhile some other stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know that it got really good reviews and I really want to watch it but ever since I had kids I can’t watch movies where kids die. It’s so traumatizing and I cry so much I had to stop. Are most other parents like this? I told my DH what the movie was about and he said he couldn’t watch it either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I basically don’t watch anything disturbing. I don’t get why people like true crime. I mostly watch romances, comedies, nature documentaries and once in awhile some other stuff.

Same!

I liked the one true crime show about that fake Russian heiress, Inventing Anna, but anything violent, especially involving children, no way.

[Anonymous]

I don't like that kind of sad and depressing movie. But I have a depressive friend who revels in anything sad, in book or movie form. We have both lost pregnancies.

It's a well-known fact, OP, that a solid portion of the population is attracted to miserable plots to alleviate their own sadness. Some of us are the opposite - after my teen phase of reading the most depressing classical literature (Zola and Dostoevsky, for ex), I decided, no more. Only happy endings for me. I want escapism, not corroboration.

[Anonymous]

It’s an amazing movie. I have three kids but still appreciated it.

[Anonymous]

True crime has nothing to do with beautiful movies like Hamnet!

[Anonymous]

Same! And I used to love a good tear jerker.

[Anonymous]

Hamnet you say? I was crying watching The Life of Chuck which is way milder

[Anonymous]

Unusually cry at anything. Hamnet was super sad, but I’ve cried MUCH more at other movies.

OP, do not EVER watch “Pan’s Labyrinth.” Just thinking about that movie literally makes me start crying even all these years later.

[Anonymous]

Even watching Harriet the spy now makes me cry. The parents firing her longtime nanny? Diabolical!

[Anonymous]

I also cry at most movies now and I did cry a lot at Hamnet but it was a really good movie. There is a sweet clip of the whole cast dancing to Rihanna if anyone wants to feel better after watching.

[Anonymous]

That’s OK, OP. I went through a good 10 years where I felt the same. Now for some reason, I can. But there are thousands of outstanding movies, books, short stories, plays and other forms of art that are better suited to where you are, so enjoy those!

[Anonymous]

I hope this isn't spoilerish, not the death scene is beautiful, empowering, and Hamnet's choice. Not dating you have to watch it but his death was much less brutal than the grief after it

[Anonymous]

It is a very sad and very moving movie. And book! The book hit me like a gut punch.

As a mother myself, I found Agnes journey through motherhood interesting and her journey through grief devastating (Jessie Buckley earned every award she won.) For me, the ending was beautifully cathartic. Her grief was real and so was the healing that came through seeing her grief, and her husband’s grief, externalized through the play. When it ended, I felt hopeful and peaceful - and emotionally wrung out.

I suppose that’s why some of us like sad things. As humans, we are naturally sympathetic to other humans and sad movies and books are a safe way to feel big emotions. Working through artificially sad emotions over two hours, really does help my brain and my body work through my real sad emotions.

But it’s not for everyone! OP, I’m glad you know your limits and keep away from media that you find unhelpful.