Overview

• Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel premiered Aug. 29 at the Telluride Film Festival, where critics and audiences embraced it as a standout of the lineup.
• Reviewers praised Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal for career-best work, fueling immediate Oscar talk for the lead performances and Zhao’s direction.
• The film, co-written by Zhao and O’Farrell, explores a research-informed fictional link between the death of Shakespeare’s son and the creation of Hamlet, drawing notice for its emotional focus.
• Craft contributions drew strong notices, including cinematography by Łukasz Żal, production design by Fiona Crombie, and a score by Max Richter, with backing from producers Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes.
• Early aggregation shows extremely positive scores on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, and the rollout continues with a TIFF Gala on Sept. 7 before Focus opens the film in limited release Nov. 27 and expands Dec. 12.