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Why is Chloé Zhao’s film Hamnet one of the first cinematic shocks of 2026?
After Nomadland and Eternals, Chloé Zhao is back with a new feature film, Hamnet, based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel. Starring Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley as Agnes, the film delves into the intimate tragedy that gave rise to Hamlet. This historical and family drama is already emerging as one of the most beautiful films of 2026… It has already won a Golden Globe and is among the frontrunners for the Oscars.
and Violaine Schütz.
Chloé Zhao, the Chinese filmmaker who captures America’s silences
Chinese director Chloé Zhao, 43, has become a central voice in contemporary cinema. She is known for her unique sharpness, particularly when it comes to exploring family relationships. The invisible, the forgotten, the outcasts… The filmmaker captures the type of images that are often overlooked by the cinema industry.
With Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015), she explored Native American youth. Then, in The Rider (2017), she followed an injured cowboy. Even then, her luminous, naturalistic aesthetic stood out. But it was Nomadland (2020), starring Frances McDormand, that skyrocketed her career. The film received the Golden Lion in Venice, the Oscar for Best Picture and for Best Director. Her cinematic work is both intimate and universal, and captivated audiences around the world.
Chloé Zhao then took a bold step with Eternals (2021), a controversial, yet ambitious Marvel project. Even in the midst of the spectacle, she retained her humanistic lens. Her trademark? Weaving intimate wounds into collective narratives.
Hamnet, a bold film starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley
With her new film Hamnet, hitting theaters on January 21st, 2026, Chloé Zhao returns to an even more intimate story, despite the historical backdrop. The film is an adaptation of the novel Hamnet by British writer and journalist Maggie O’Farrell (2020). It tells the story behind the creation of the play Hamlet, whose first performance took place between 1598 and 1601.
Actor Paul Mescal (Normal People, Aftersun) plays the young and tormented William Shakespeare. Next to him, Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter) portrays the playwright’s fiery wife, Anne Hathaway, called Agnes in the novel. The two actors had previously starred in the compelling The Lost Daughter (2021) by Maggie Gyllenhaal, though they didn’t share any scenes.
At the origins of the play Hamlet
The two actors portray a deeply in-love couple shattered by the loss of their son, Hamnet, who tragically dies of the bubonic plague at just 11. Co-produced by Sam Mendes and Steven Spielberg, the film traces back their first meeting, a true-love-at-first-sight story. William was a penniless Latin teacher at the time. Then, the story movingly depicts the slow unraveling of their relationship in the face of grief.
While Agnes manages the household and takes care of the family in Stratford-upon-Avon, William isolates himself and continues to write, making a living as a playwright in London. Hamnet is a film about mourning, about what mothers are capable of – the story takes on a feminist dimension in the way it addresses emotional labor – and about the power of creation in the face of life’s greatest trials.
A sensory feature acclaimed at the Golden Globes
Although the story centers on William Shakespeare’s wife, the film also captures the playwright in a new light. Not as a distant genius, but as a sensitive man shattered by the inconsolable grief of losing a child. Chloé Zhao’s deeply sensory film moves us not only through the heartrending performances of its two leads, but also through its stunning visuals.
The poetic sets and meticulously crafted costumes make us feel as though we are watching living paintings, elevated by Max Richter’s haunting score. At the beginning of the film, Agnes appears like a gentle witch or healer, intimately connected to nature as she moves through the wild.
For her intense, soulful, and deeply moving performance as a grieving mother, Jessie Buckley won awards at both the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes in January 2026. At the Golden Globes, Hamnet also took home the trophy for Best Drama Film. A triumph that places it among the frontrunners for the Oscars this year.
Hamnet by Chloé Zhao, coming out in theaters on January 21st, 2026.
