After her Marvel detour, Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao returns to more dramatically compelling fare with a project centered on the most famous dramatist of all time. Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, Hamnet tells the fictional story of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife Agnes Shakespeare (Jessie Buckley) following the death of their 11-year-old son. While we hope it returns the director to the highs of her early work, such as The Rider, we’re perhaps most compelled to see her collaborate with cinematographer Łukasz Żal, marking his first film since The Zone of Interest. Ahead of a likely Telluride and announced TIFF premiere, followed by a November 27 release, the first trailer has now arrived.
Here’s the TIFF synopsis: “In William Shakespeare’s day, the names Hamlet and Hamnet were interchangeable. The newest film by Chloé Zhao, director of TIFF ’20 People’s Choice Award winner Nomadland, also an Oscar winner, uses that context as the basis for a tender exploration of Shakespeare’s domestic life, connecting a family tragedy to one of his most famous works. Maybe we can better understand Hamlet, Zhao suggests, if we consider that it was developed while the most famous writer in the Western canon was mourning the death of his 11-year-old son, Hamnet. Based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell, Hamnet’s main character isn’t The Bard — played here by an impressive Paul Mescal — or even the child who gives the film its name. Hamnet belongs to Agnes, Shakespeare’s thoughtful wife, played by an enthralling Jessie Buckley, who bathes the film in her warmth. Many historical accounts preface reports of Hamnet’s death with statistics about how common child mortality was in the 16th century, as though it barely made an impact. Hamnet rejects that premise, presenting Shakespeare not as a distant, untouchable genius but as a real man whose literary prowess was irrevocably impacted by his domestic life.”
See the trailer below for the film also starring Emily Watson and Joe Alwyn.