Paul Mescal says #OneBattleAfterAnother made him cry: “I think it’s so brilliantly, brilliantly directed and so well-acted. And I just really felt for Leo’s character.” Mescal plays William Shakespeare in Chloé Zhao’s #Hamnet, a film about loss and grief that’s quickly gained a reputation as a real tear-jerker. But Mescal wants to set the record straight that the historical drama isn’t just designed to make audiences weep. “The first hour of this film is about two people falling in love and raising a family together,” he told Variety Friday night at the film’s New York premiere. “The reason that people maybe cry is because the film is successful in making them feel that these two people are really in love.” He concluded, “So yes, this film makes people cry, but I hope it makes people laugh and really understand the concept of what it is to really, truly love.”