To be or not to be? There's no question the 'emotionally manipulative' Hamnet deserves to win the 2026 Oscar for best picture

To be or not to be? It probably shouldn’t be a question.

Somehow, for many pundits and critics, Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed historical fiction novel Hamnet has become something of a villain this Oscars season. It’s a bizarre take when the tragedy has so much to offer.

The film tackles a lesser-known element of William Shakespeare’s life: the loss of his son Hamnet. Like O’Farrell’s novel, though, this text primarily centres its experience on Shakespeare’s wife and Hamnet’s mother, here named Agnes.

Portrayed with ferocity and heartbreaking nuance by Irish triple-threat Jessie Buckley, Agnes is a spiritual, earthy and misunderstood figure — one who draws the attention of Shakespeare in his youth (a moving Paul Mescal) and before his success as a playwright in London.

Primarily set in the pastoral setting of Stratford-Upon-Avon, we see how the Shakespeare clan grows in size following Agnes and Shakespeare’s wedding, with the pair welcoming three children and living an idyllic life as William's career in London begins to take off.

However, the true crux of the drama occurs when a malady claims the life of their son Hamnet (the wonderful young talent Jacobi Jupe) and sets them on diverging paths… until Shakespeare’s works come to the rescue.

A moving examination of grief and the power of art, Hamnet has signalled another vote of confidence in Zhao from the film industry, after the plaudits and gongs won for her much-celebrated film Nomadland. The prospect of a female and non-white Oscar-winner gaining recognition from the Academy so close to her previous wins should be welcomed – as although ceilings can be shattered, in the film industry they can always quickly grow back, leaving a long wait until the next slice of the pie.

Separately, success for Hamnet would be just recognition for one of our finest acting talents in Jessie Buckley, who continues to give emotionally true performances in a singular range of roles. It is highly likely — at least at this stage — that Buckley will take home the award for best actress, but her performance is not the sole selling point of this touching and ethereal cinematic experience.

A costume drama – linked to Shakespeare no less – would not be a groundbreaking best picture win as such, but Hamnet being so grounded in the female experience in plot, style, performance and creation makes it a pivotal competitor this year. Equally, the absence of Mescal, the ever-brilliant Emily Watson and Jacobi Jupe in their respective categories feels a crying shame, meaning Hamnet is only able to compete on limited fronts. Snobbery or a lack of recognition towards "women's films" is nothing new in the industry or in film criticism, of course, but it feels very strange here when one considers the pedigree of the talent on show.

There have been complaints about Hamnet being stereotypical "Oscar bait", but the chief issue many have had has been around claims that Zhao's film is "emotionally manipulative".

The final act, in particular, swells with pure emotion as Agnes attends a performance of her husband’s play Hamlet, thanks to the touching work of Buckley, Mescal, and both Jacobi and Noah Jupe. The score from Max Richter — which includes his recognisable track On the Nature of Daylight — only further crystallises the sheer emotion of the scene.

Some have argued that the film does not earn this sentimentality and outpouring of emotion – and I have had to ask them what film they have been watching. How can a film moving crowds of moviegoers to tears be manipulative, especially when using the sheer emotion evoked from Shakespeare's own work?

Good cinema is designed to play with our emotions. It endeavours to capture shades of the human experience that are hard to put into words. It reaches out to a pained soul in the audience – just as Shakespeare’s own work did.

To be or not to be? Here, there’s no question, Hamnet is well deserving of its flowers.

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