Music as Nourishment: Max Richter on Scoring "Hamnet"

"Zhao's fifth feature, Hamnet, likewise finds a synthesis between the natural world and the interiority of her charactersin telling a story of creation in every sense of the word - the genesis of new life and the mysterious place within where creativity and artistic processes emerge. An adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's eponymous book, the filmdepicts how William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) embarked on his most ambitious and iconic play after the loss of his titular son. More so, it's the story of his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley), a loving mother of two who has a profound connection with the nature that surrounds her in the English countryside. Much like her other films, Zhao is looking here for a synthesis between the natural world and the rich interiority of her characters. Gorgeously shot by Łukasz Żal, and edited by Zhao herself alongside Affonso Gonçalves, Hamnet aspires to near-Malickian transcendence in its depiction of how life on earth inevitably crosses over to the afterworld."

"These highly ambitious themes are not only grounded by an emotionally devastating and relatively straightforward melodramatic screenplay, but also by the nourishing score of Max Richter. The famed composer handsomely manages to alleviate the material in its more ethereal moments, feeding the soil of the narrative with an identifiable musical throughline that gradually envelops as the storyworld expands. Richter is a renowned contemporary composer who shook up the traditionalist classical world with his ambitious spins on modern minimalist music. Ever since he composed his first film score for Ari Folman's Waltz with Ba"

Chloé Zhao's fifth feature, Hamnet, synthesizes the natural world and the interior lives of its characters while telling a story of creation, loss, and artistic genesis. The film adapts Maggie O'Farrell's novel and follows William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) as he embarks on his most ambitious play after the death of his son, while centering Agnes (Jessie Buckley), a mother deeply connected to the English countryside. Łukasz Żal's cinematography and editing by Zhao and Affonso Gonçalves aim for near-Malickian transcendence as life crosses toward the afterworld. Max Richter's nourishing score provides an identifiable musical throughline that supports the film's ethereal moments.

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