Hamnet: by centring Anne Hathaway, this sensuous film gives Shakespeare’s world new life

By Roberta Garrett, Senior Lecturer in Literature and Cultural Studies, University of East London

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…

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