Chloé Zhao’s haunting, dramatic Shakespearean vision arrives in ‘Hamnet’
Academy Award-winner Chloé Zhao brings her gift for evocative storytelling with her adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s lauded novel Hamnet, as she takes audiences into the mind and soul of William Shakespeare and the journey through loss, heartbreak and creativity that he undergoes alongside his wide Judith (Jessie Buckley) in the wake of their son’s death and how this event would inspire his greatest ever work, Hamlet.
Watch the incredibly moving trailer for Hamnet below:
Here’s the official synopsis:
From Academy Award® winning writer/director Chloé Zhao, Hamnet tells the powerful love story that inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.
As a filmmaker Zhao has captured the attention of audiences with her ability to capture a wife array of dramatic feelings and emotions in her work, and now she turns her attention to the life and work of William Shakespeare, the greatest voice in English language, and in adapting Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel, she takes audiences into a radiant, fairy-tale-esque story of romance, heartbreak and creative freedom, and this trailer promises a cinematic experience that will sweep over audiences.
The presence of Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal also elevate the experience of what this film will be with their incredible talent, and you can feel the burning passion and chemistry that two share together. Buckley herself looks to have transcended to an entirely new place with her performance as Agnes, wife to Shakespeare who experiences a severe sense of grief and shock following the death of her only son, and Buckley appears to have taken her emotive performance to a whole new level with this performance.
Hamnet is a film that looks to be shaped by texture and realism, with a string sense of natural light and dynamic, close-in camera work helping to pull audiences into the time and feeling of the Elizabethan stage, and Zhao’s beautifully crafted world building helps to elevate this dream-like, fairy-tale feeling that she’s bringing to the production, and this is a film rich in visuals that will pull audiences in with its elevated ambience.
Get ready to have your emotions pulled in every direction with Chloé Zhao and her tribute to the expression of absolute love and the burning fires of creativity when Hamnet arrives in cinemas on January 15.
Image: Universal Pictures
