Filming ‘Hamnet’ Was a Surreal, Lost-and-Found Experience for Director, Star

Filming ‘Hamnet’ was a surreal, lost-and-found experience for director, star

At about the midway point in Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet, Agnes (Jessie Buckley), an unconventional and earthy naturalist and healer who’s the wife of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), lets out a piercing scream destined to strike the soul of everyone in movie theaters. Agnes’ primal, all-encompassing reaction to the unfathomable loss of her son was not part of the script and came from an organic place in Oscar-winning Zhao’s profoundly moving adaptat…

Filming ‘Hamnet’ was a surreal, lost-and-found experience for director, star

At about the midway point in Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet, Agnes (Jessie Buckley), an unconventional and earthy naturalist and healer who’s the wife of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), lets out a piercing scream destined to strike the soul of everyone in movie theaters. Agnes’ primal, all-encompassing reaction to the unfathomable loss of her son was not part of the script and came from an organic place in Oscar-winning Zhao’s profoundly moving adaptat…

‘Hamnet’'s Costume Designer Turned Paul Mescal into a Shakespeare You've Never Seen—By Ditching Everything but the Earring

Mescal explains how Malgosia Turzanska's costumes—featuring slashed leather and dark gray tones—helped him access William Shakespeare's "psychological landscape" in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet.

Interview: How Chloé Zhao and Jessie Buckley Gave Life and Agency to ‘Hamnet’ and Agnes

It's been a strange road for Chloé Zhao. An early indie darling with early features like Songs My Brother Taught Me and The Rider, using non-actors to give the films a raw and natural feel. She kept that feel but upped the star factor when Nomadland came to her doorstep, bringing in two-time Oscar winner…