Skilled at making art out of heartache

Chloé Zhao walked through a 'painful fire' that led to poignant new film, 'Hamnet.'

- BY JOSH ROTTENBERG

"HAMNET" follows the marriage of grieving parents Agnes (Jessie Buckley) and Shakespeare (Paul Mescal).

It’s customary at Telluride for a director premiering a movie to step onstage, say a few words and slip away before the lights go down.

Last Friday night, before unveiling her new film “Hamnet,” Chloé Zhao admitted she couldn't find the right words. For a film centered on William Shakespeare, the most famous wordsmith in history, that felt oddly fitting.

Instead, the 43-year-old Zhao led the packed Palm Theater in a meditative “ritual” she and her cast had practiced throughout the shoot, from before the script was even written until the final day on set. She asked the audience to close their eyes, place a hand over their hearts and feel the weight of their bodies in the seats and the surrounding Rocky Mountains holding them safe. Together, the crowd exhaled three long, loud sighs, then tapped their chests in unison, repeating softly: “This is my heart. This is my heart. This is my heart.”

By the time the film ended, those same hearts were left aching. Adapted from Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 novel, "Hamnet" tells the story of Shakespeare's marriage to Agnes (played by Jessie Buckley) and the devastating death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet.

Paul Mescal plays Shakespeare not the untouchable bard of legend but a husband and father reckoning with grief. At once grounded and dreamlike, the film drew perhaps the most rapturous and unanimous response of any debut in this year's lineup.