Breaking: Chloé Zhao just flipped the awards race. Her sweeping, intimate take on Hamnet roared through the Golden Globes, turning a literary adaptation into a full blown season threat. The room felt it. The industry felt it. Zhao is back in the center of the frame, and she is running the show.
The Moment: Hamnet Surges at the Globes
Hamnet did not tiptoe onto the stage. It took top honors and planted a flag. Zhao’s vision hit with force, marrying tender detail with fearless scope. She treats a page turner like a living, breathing world. The results are stunning, and voters responded on cue.
This was not a polite nod. It was a statement. The film has a heartbeat, and it thumps with loss, love, and art. You can feel Zhao guiding every frame, soft but sure. It is the same steady hand that lifted Nomadland, now tuned to the pulse of a storied family.
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Zhao already holds Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture for Nomadland.
Spielberg’s Vote of Confidence
Power meets power. Steven Spielberg, a titan, put his weight behind Zhao. He said she was the only filmmaker who could tell Hamnet the way it needed to be told. That is not casual praise in this town. It is a flare in the sky.
Endorsements do not win trophies on their own. But they reshape the season map. This one clears a path for Zhao, and it gives the film a fresh, undeniable charge.
Spielberg’s public backing does more than flatter. It moves the race.
Jessie Buckley Steps Into the Spotlight
Jessie Buckley leads Hamnet with raw grace. She has the kind of presence that sneaks up on you, then refuses to leave. It is a career high from a fearless actor who never coasts. Her work here feels lived in, but sharp. Gentle, but blistering when it matters.
Oscar talk is not a whisper anymore. It is a steady hum around Buckley. Pair her with Zhao’s eye, and you get magic that lingers. Think faces in close up, voices that quiver, silences that say more than dialogue. Buckley makes all of it sing.
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Why Zhao’s Touch Changes Everything
Zhao works with intimacy first, then builds out. She chases truth in small moments. A hand at a door. A breath before tears. Then she folds those moments into a larger, elegant arc. The approach takes Hamnet beyond the usual period piece. It feels personal, not dusty.
This story digs into the family behind a legend, and it centers a woman’s point of view. Zhao leans into that shift. She gives agency to a character long held in the margins. The film does not worship genius from afar. It steps into the rooms where genius was born, and it listens to the people who kept that house standing.
The ripple is cultural, not just cinematic. It answers a hunger for stories that trade pose for tenderness. It gives audiences a new way to look at legacy, love, and loss.
- Key ripple effects to watch:
- A stronger lane for women centered period films
- A surge for Buckley in Best Actress races
- Renewed respect for literary adaptations
- A narrative reset for Zhao after Eternals
The Post Eternals Reset
Eternals put Zhao in blockbuster territory. The scale was huge, the mix bold, the reception divided. Hamnet now rewrites the script on what comes next for her. It reminds Hollywood that she can make the intimate feel epic, and the epic feel human.
This is not a retreat. It is a reveal. Zhao has range. She can take a Marvel sandbox and try to carve wonder out of it. She can also take a quiet novel and turn it into a thunderclap. The through line is her eye for soul, and it is clear in every scene here.
Watch how Zhao uses silence. It is her secret weapon, and it lands like dialogue.
What Comes Next
Festival rooms will lean in. Guild screenings will book out. The Academy will take a hard look. That is the flow when a film hits this clean. For Zhao and Buckley, the next weeks are about staying steady, meeting the moment, and letting the work speak.
Awards are not the only prize. Hamnet has the feel of a classic in the making. It reaches out, holds your gaze, and does not let go. That is what lasts. That is why this win matters.
Conclusion
Chloé Zhao is not just back, she is blazing. With Hamnet, she lifts a quiet story into the spotlight, brings Jessie Buckley along for a star turn, and earns rare praise from one of cinema’s giants. The season just got a new center of gravity. And Zhao put it there. 🎬
