The “Hamnet” Dance Party Video is the Curtain Call I Didn’t Know I Needed
by Chris Peterson
After Hamnet, I was kind of emotionally done. Not “this was bad” done. More like “I’ve been through something, and I need a minute” done. The kind where the movie ends and you just sit there, staring at the screen, wondering why you voluntarily signed up to feel that much.
So when the clip of the Hamnet cast dancing started floating around, I figured, okay, cute behind-the-scenes moment, actors having fun, love that for them. Not sure I’m in the mood.
Turns out, I was very wrong.
There they are. Still in the costumes. Still on that stage. And suddenly Rihanna is playing, and Paul Mescal is smiling, and Jessie Buckley looks like someone who just shook something heavy off her shoulders. And it’s silly and joyful and kind of perfect.
I laughed out loud. Which surprised me. And then, because the universe has a sense of humor, I got a little emotional again. Because of course I did.
What got me wasn’t just that they were dancing. It was what it represented. Hamnet is brutal, especially for parents. It doesn’t rush grief. It just lets it sit there with you, heavy and unavoidable. You feel all of it. There’s no shortcut around that.
So seeing the cast dance afterward felt like an emotional reset button I didn’t know existed. Not a rejection of the sadness, but a release from it. Like someone saying, “Okay. You can unclench now.”
It also reminded me why curtain calls matter. In theatre, they’re not just polite applause time. They’re there to remind you that the people who just broke your heart are okay. That the actor who died onstage is going to grab a drink later and complain about their costume. It brings you back to the real world gently.
This video feels like that. A film version of a kind of curtain call. A little reminder that the grief stayed on the stage/film, and the people didn’t. That joy still exists on the other side of telling a hard story.
Chloé Zhao talked about emotion being energy in motion, and honestly, that tracks. Watching them dance felt like watching energy finally go somewhere instead of just sitting in your chest. Movement instead of stillness. Laughter instead of holding your breath.
I think that’s why this hit so hard for so many people. Not because it’s viral or cute or perfectly timed to a song we all love. But because a lot of us needed to see what comes after devastation. We needed to see the exhale.
So if Hamnet left you feeling a little hollowed out, watch the video. Let it be the thing that brings you back down to earth. Let it be your curtain call. Sometimes that’s all you need.