Sumith Prasad
Netflix’s Swedish drama film ‘A Part of You’ ends with a tribute that reads, “Till William.” The tribute translates to English as “To William.” He is a nineteen-year-old who tragically passed away untimely, affecting Michaela Hamilton, who wrote the movie, severely. Michaela conceived this tale about grief and hope inspired by the demise of William, which makes it clear why the film is dedicated to his memory. William was one of Michaela’s younger brothers, whom she lost around eight years ago. As she steps into the world of feature film as a screenwriter, it isn’t a surprise that she chose to pay homage to one of her loved ones.
William’s Life and Demise
William, born in 1997, passed away in 2016 due to an accident. The death influenced his elder sister, Michaela Hamilton, enough for her to explore her grief through the tale of Agnes. “This story is deeply personal to me, as I lost my 19-year-old brother in an accident seven years ago. I felt compelled to write about both sides of loss—the immense pain of it but also the love and hope that can emerge in the process,” the screenwriter told Netflix about William last year. His demise paved the way for the creation of Julia’s death in the drama film.
In ‘A Part of You,’ Julia dies in an accident as William did in real life. Like Agnes, Michaela had an extremely hard time processing the unexpected demise of her sibling. The screenwriter often remembered William through her social media posts, sharing glimpses of her life with him occasionally. “I miss him so much, it burns,” she wrote on one occasion about dealing with the absence of her younger brother. William’s death taught Michaela the value of sharing one’s life with love and happiness regardless of the time we get to spend with our loved ones.
With an image of William, Michaela, on another occasion, wrote about how she would never get a chance to have her younger brother in front of her eyes. Despite the emotional hardships she had been experiencing, the screenwriter added that she was glad about all the time they got while being close and nice to each other. “Don’t forget to hug your loved ones all. It is such an incredible privilege. There is nothing that matters more,” Michaela wrote to her followers while dealing with William’s absence.
Michaela’s protagonist, Agnes, deals with similar emotions throughout her film. Like how the screenwriter had been drawn to William’s photographs, Agnes finds it hard to distance herself from her late sister’s red dress, which she eventually wears whenever she is attending school or joining parties. Towards the end, Agnes blames herself for not being with her sister when the latter had been going through a different time. Even though she wants to be with Julia, she is forced to accept the reality behind the latter’s demise. Similarly, Michaela had a hard time accepting she could not pat his younger brother again.
As Agnes finds hope towards the end of ‘A Part of You,’ we can see traces of Michaela in the protagonist. We wish to share our heartfelt condolences to the screenwriter and her family as they remember William with love.
Read More: A Part of You: All Locations Where the Netflix Movie Was Filmed
