First Look: See How a Personal Tragedy Inspired Shakespeare in Hamnet
As we enter the end of August, major film festivals like Venice and Toronto are about to begin, officially kicking off the annual awards season. A number of highly anticipated films are releasing their trailers, including the one for Hamnet.
Hamnet will be released in North America on November 27. It is directed by Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) and is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Maggie O'Farrell, who co-wrote the script with Zhao. The film is told from the perspective of William Shakespeare's wife, Agnes, and chronicles their life after the death of their son. This tragic experience is what inspired Shakespeare to write his immortal masterpiece, Hamlet.
The cast features:
Olivier Award winner Jessie Buckley (I’m Thinking of Ending Things) as Shakespeare's wife, Agnes.
British BAFTA winner Paul Mescal (Normal People) as William Shakespeare.
European Film Award winner Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves) as Shakespeare's mother, Mary.
Joe Alwyn (Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk) also stars.
Zhao's previous work, Nomadland, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020, winning the Golden Lion, then went on to win the People's Choice Award at TIFF, and later secured the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress (for Frances McDormand). However, her next film, the Marvel movie Eternals, received mixed reviews and became the lowest-rated film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the time. Hamnet is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month, and it remains to be seen if it can achieve the same critical success as Nomadland.
If you are interested in upcoming movies to be released in Canada, please visit the Movie Release Schedule page on this website!
Photo and Source: TIFF