‘Hamnet’ Shoots for Girl Power, Misses the Story

The women of Gen Z have done a heroic service to society by giving us a name for a hard-to-define but instantly recognizable archetype: the “pick-me girl.” She’s not like the other girls. She rejects feminine conventions for deeper, purer, more authentic modes of being—when the other girls are picking out prom dresses, she dons combat boots; when they’re applying lip gloss, she’s in flannel—all with subtle moral sanctimony. Unfortunately, our critical class has not caught up. A rapturous New York Times review of Hamnet, a new film directed by Chloé Zhao about William Shakespeare’s family life, reveals the extent to which the cool-girl fantasy still passes for depth.