Awards season is never without its fair share of crying at the movies.

Still, the first thing you’ve likely heard about Oscar-winner director Chloé Zhao’s latest film, Hamnet–before even predictions about its Oscar chances–is the degree to which it is leaving crowds in a pool of tears. Since its world premiere, headlines and breathless social media posts alike have dubbed it the awards hopeful that wrings out audible sobs from audiences.

The film stars Jessie Buckley as Agnes, the wife of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), who is fictionalized mainly due to how little is known about her. It centers on an event whose details are similarly mysterious to history: the death of their son, the titular Hamnet.

Zhao spends more time on the living rather than the dying, however, following Agne

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