Oscars put focus on struggles of motherhood

For many, watching a woman’s flawed humanity override a social stereotype is still destabilising

In one of Hamnet’s most harrowing scenes, Agnes Shakespeare (Jessie Buckley) lets out a guttural wail of distress after watching her young son, violently convulsing and in agony, die. Though Buckley told reporters that she had “no idea” where the scream came from on that day, director Chloe Zhao pinpointed its origin in interviews — the vast prep work the actor undertook prior to filming, which involved speaking to women who had lost a child. Buckley’s astute channelling of

A scene from the movie Hamnet.