‘Hamnet’ gives Shakespeare’s world new life by focusing on his wife
The literary adaptation that imagines the life of The Bard and his wife, as they cope with the death of their son, took best drama at the Golden Globes
For films and books about Shakespeare’s life, there is little source material to draw on beyond the few known facts of the great writer’s parentage, hometown, marriage, children, property and death. Shakespeare biopics, therefore, require considerable speculation and invention on the part of writers and directors.
Director Chloe Zhao’s earthy and sensuous film Hamnet is based on the book by Maggie O’ Farrell, who also co-wrote the screenplay. It not only foregrounds Shakespeare’s personal rather than professional life but does this by focusing chiefly on the experience of his previously maligned wife, Anne Hathaway (referred to as Agnes in the film).
Read the full story on Times2.