For being arguably the most influential storyteller in the English language, William Shakespeare is nearly absent in movies. Of course, there are endless adaptations of and riffs on his work — everything from Kenneth Branagh’s “Hamlet” to teen-centric modernizations (“O,” “10 Things I Hate About You”) — but as a central character, the Bard is basically a blank.

Well, he was. The hotly anticipated “Hamnet,” out Nov. 26, imagines the writer’s inner life with vividly naturalistic detail. Directed by Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”) and based on the 2020 novel “Hamnet” by Maggie O’Farrell, who co-wrote the screenplay with Zhao, the movie is already being tipped as a top Oscar contender by awards prognosticators.

“Hamnet” traces Shakespeare’s (Paul Mescal) life from his courtship of wife Agnes (Jessi

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