Chloé Zhao's Hamnet reimagines the heartbreak that shaped Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy

After making its impressive world premiere at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival, Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao's historical drama film Hamnet is ready for its limited theatrical release in the United States on November 27.

Zhao's movie, based on Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 eponymous novel, is loosely based on the life of William Shakespeare, the Greatest Bard of the English language. O’Farrell’s novel is a speculative fiction that delves into the aftermath of the death of Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet, which may have shaped his literary journey and inspired one of the greatest tragedies ever written, Hamlet.

The upcoming movie stars Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare, along with Jessie Buckley as his wife Agnes and Jacobi Jupe playing the titular character of the Bard's 11-year-old son.

The movie is already being hailed as a literary masterpiece and the perfect tearjerker watch for Fall. Mescal and Buckley's performances as tragedy-stricken parents are especially praised by critics, making it a highly anticipated watch on Thanksgiving 2025.

Chloé Zhao's Hamnet explores the inspiration behind Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Chloé Zhao's upcoming Oscar-worthy film Hamnet claims to explore the inspiration behind the Bard's loss, which gave the world one of its most heartbreaking tragedies, Hamlet. The recently released trailer asserts:

''The untold story of love and loss that became Shakespeare’s greatest masterpiece.''

For decades, scholars, readers and Shakespeare’s admirers have speculated that his most heartbreaking tragedy was based on the grief and death of his 11-year-old only son. Hamlet is strikingly similar to the Bard's son's name in spelling and pronunciation, and thus, many believe that the two words were practically interchangeable in Old English.

Unlike his contemporary Ben Jonson, who wrote lengthy pieces on his son's death, Shakespeare was more subtle in expressing his grief about his son's sudden demise and director Chloé Zhao is exploring that hidden story behind this grave tragedy in her movie Hamnet.

The trailer brings us face-to-face with Mescal's Shakespeare, who is heartbroken over his son's demise and tries to come to terms with this tragedy while balancing his budding writing career. On the other hand, Buckley's Agnes Shakespeare, who is equally heartbroken and is seen wailing in the trailer, encourages her husband to go to London and channel this grief creatively into his writing.

Hamnet promises to shine a spotlight on the Bard's personal life

A still from the trailer (Image via Focus Features)

Zhao's upcoming movie might be a play on the Bard's most heartbreaking tragedy but it promises to shine a light on William Shakespeare's personal life like never before seen in fiction. Hamnet's trailer begins with Shakespeare and Agnes as young lovers, embracing each other in the forest, unaware of the tragic turmoil that is about to unfold in their familial life. Moments later, we are given glimpses of the Bard's loving family with his wife and three children.

However, these moments of ecstasy don't last long and the couple learns about the devastating passing of Hamnet, which shakes their family's core. As history bears witness, Shakespeare was already an established playwright whose popularity was only growing in stature till his only son reached the age of four. However, scholars have noticed that his son's passing had a monumental change on his writing style and he pivoted from comedy to tragedy.

Soon after his son's death, Agnes becomes a guiding light in Shakespeare's life and encourages him to move to London, which is when he writes Hamlet. The trailer has a beautiful moment when the stage actor portraying Hamlet, who bears a striking resemblance to Agnes' dead son, is standing on the stage and she reaches out for him.

Finally, the Hamnet trailer leaves you with a heartbreaking scene, where Shakespeare says 'Bye' to his son, who reciprocates the greeting to his father. This repeated greeting of parting almost echoes in the air, preparing the audience for the tragedy that is about to befall the couple in the following days.

While scholars will continue to speculate how closely the Bard's Hamlet was inspired by this monumental loss in his life, Zhao's Hamnet promises to lend an emotional and almost empathetic lens to his story. The movie humanizes the literary icon, reiterating that before he became the greatest playwright and the father of English literature, William Shakespeare was first a husband and a father.