20 Most Perfect Scenes In Recent Movies

5. Hamnet - Ending

Hamnet's ending scene has got to be one of the best of the last few years, and it has left entire cinemas in floods of tears. More than anything else, it's an absolute acting showcase. It was likely this scene that won Jessie Buckley the most recent Oscar for Best Actress, and it reminds us all that Paul Mescal not being nominated for Best Supporting Actor was an undeniable snub. 

Here, Agnes Shakespeare (Jessie Buckley) goes to London to watch the premiere of William Shakespeare's masterpiece Hamlet, which her husband is performing in as the Ghost of Hamlet's Father. She slowly realizes that the play is a tribute to her and William's son, who'd recently passed away aged only 10. Both actors portray grief to devastating effect yet they also display the healing power of turning their pain into art. 

We see the unimaginable depths of despair but we also witness the grieving couple finding a semblance of peace, which is perhaps the key thing that will really bring the tears. Their performances are further enhanced by Chloe Zhao's potent directing, as well as the inspired use of Max Richter's famously tear-jerking track On the Nature of Daylight. 

Hamnet itself has plenty of issues but it does end on the best note imaginable. It's arguable that a big reason it did do well throughout awards season is this ending, which made the slow, often meandering narrative in the rest of the movie easier to forgive.