‘Hamnet’ Sets the Oscar Bar High at Telluride With Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal’s Heartbreaking Turns

In a quaint theater in the Colorado mountains where we lay our scene, a clear Oscar contender emerges.

Before Chloé Zhao’s anticipated drama “Hamnet” held its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival on Friday, the director took the stage with her two stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal to lead the audience in a meditation before they took in her heartbreaking story. With a room that included some of her peers like “Sinners” director Ryan Coogler and actor-turned-director Harris Dickinson, the immaculate adaptation unspooled before the sold out crowd and captivated the audience.

The moving and fictionalized portrait of grief and loss that inspired one of history’s most treasured playwrights held its grip for 125-minutes, where audible sounds of sniffles and quiet tears filled the venue, reacting to the film’s emotional depth. Moreover, the evening cemented a respect for Zhao as one of today’s most urgent and captivating auteurs, steering what may be two of the finest performances of the year from Buckley and Mescal.

Zhao made history in April 2021 as the first woman of color and the first Asian woman to win the Academy Award for best director, for her acclaimed drama “Nomadland” (2020), which also won best picture. Zhao is one of three women to helm a best picture winner — the others being Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker” (2009) and Sian Heder for “CODA” (2021) — she has assembled a piece of art that could make her the first to helm two movies to go down in the Oscar history books. Worth noting, Jane Campion is the only woman to be nominated twice for directing — “The Piano” (1993) and her winner “The Power of the Dog” (2021).

Based on the bestselling novel by Maggie O’Farrell, which Zhao co-adapted for the screen, “Hamnet” follows the imagined story of William Shakespeare (Mescal) and his wife, Agnes (Buckley), as they grapple with the loss of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet (an impressive Jacobi Jupe). The cast also includes Joe Alwyn, Emily Watson, Jack Shalloo, Noah Jupe and David Wilmot.

Buckley, joined by her husband and their 7-week-old newborn, arrived in Telluride radiating excitement and pride in the film and its premiere. A previous Oscar nominee for best supporting actress for “The Lost Daughter” (2021), her first lead acting nomination is well within sight, as it stands as her best performance to date.

Julie Huntsinger, executive director of the Telluride Film Festival, told Variety in a preview interview that the film — and Buckley in particular — stood out as one of the festival’s highlights, saying, “Please Lord, it’s her year.”

It’s possible she’s right.

Earlier in the day, Buckley was spotted at the festival’s patron brunch, where she shared a warm hug with former “Women Talking” co-star Claire Foy, who was also in town for the premiere of “H Is for Hawk,” a buzzy acquistion title co-starring Brendan Gleeson which also premiered. Buckley was later swept off her feet — literally — by former “Fingernails” co-star Riz Ahmed, who is attending the fest with his own Shakespearean adaptation, “Hamlet.” Buckley’s industry ties run deep.

Mescal, who received an Oscar nomination for “Aftersun” (2022), takes on the monumental task of portraying the most famous playwright in history. Though there have been notable portrayals of Shakespeare on screen — Joseph Fiennes in the Oscar-winning “Shakespeare in Love” (1998) and Kenneth Branagh in “All Is True” (2018) — few have broken through with the Academy. Fiennes, despite “Shakespeare in Love” garnering 13 nominations and winning best picture, did not receive a nomination.

Mescal also pulls double duty at Telluride. His romantic drama “The History of Sound,” co-starring Josh O’Connor, had its North American premiere Saturday evening following its debut at Cannes in May. A second nom (by estimation a leading one) is very possible.

Its hard to imagine passionate admirers from the industry not feeling the urge to check young Jacobi Jupe’s name off on ballots. Tear drops are never-ending every time he’s on screen, similar to what made Freddie Highmore (“Finding Neverland”) and Jacob Tremblay (“Room”) so effective their respective years.

This will be a titan in the artisan races, notably production design, cinematography, editing, sound and a rapturous score by Max Richter who creates beautiful original music. He also dusts off his iconic “On the Nature of Daylight” thats been used in films like “Arrival” and TV shows like “The Last of Us.”

Distributed by Focus Features, “Hamnet” represents one of several major awards plays from the prestige studio this year. Though Focus has amassed more than 175 Oscar nominations and 35 wins since its founding in 2002 by James Schamus and David Linde, it has yet to secure a best picture win — despite close calls with “Brokeback Mountain” (2005) and most recently, “Conclave” (2024).

The studio is juggling multiple contenders this season, including Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia” (which will debut on Saturday in Telluride), the Daniel Day-Lewis comeback “Anemone” (set to premiere at NYFF) and the anticipated musical drama “Song Sung Blue,” starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.

“Hamnet” is produced by Oscar winners Steven Spielberg (“Schindler’s List” and “Saving Private Ryan”) and Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”), alongside Oscar nominee Pippa Harris (“1917”). That’s a dream team that will garner deep industry respect.

Next, “Hamnet” will screen as a Gala presentation at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 7. Focus Features will release Hamnet in limited theaters on Nov. 27, with a wider expansion set for Dec. 12.

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Variety Awards Circuit: Oscars