Chloé Zhao's new movie Hamnet has premiered to rave reviews – and it's already getting Oscar buzz.
Based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Maggie O'Farrell (who co-wrote the film's screenplay with Zhao), Hamnet stars Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley as 16th-century playwright William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes as the couple navigates the death of their 11-year-old son. The cast also includes Joe Alwyn and Emily Watson.
The movie had its world premiere at Telluride Film Festival last week (August 29) and has since debuted to a perfect score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 12 reviews. Vulture calls Hamnet "the most devastating movie I've seen in years", while Variety says it's "so emotionally raw as to be almost excruciating at times."
Buckley's performance as Agnes is also attracting a lot of praise, with The Wrap writing: "Buckley is nothing less than magical. She can singlehandedly break your heart with one glance or gesture and is, put simply, brilliant."
Hamnet is Zhao's first movie since 2021's Eternals, which wasn't anywhere near as well-received – the Marvel movie, starring Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Barry Keoghan, and Kumail Nanjiani as a group of immortal, superpowered beings, has a score of 47% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Before Eternals, Zhao made the Oscar-winning Nomadland, about a widow who leaves her life behind to travel around the US in a van, which took home the gongs for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for star Frances McDormand. She also directed the dramas The Rider and Songs My Brother My Taught Me.
Hamnet arrives in theaters on November 27. In the meantime, get up to speed with our guide to the rest of this year's biggest movie release dates.
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