Hamnet
Maggie O'Farrell
Mentioned once across 1 show · first heard Feb 2026 on IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson.
The general take
Michelle Obama watched Hamnet and found it compelling enough to bring up unprompted, describing it as a period piece about Shakespeare's early life, family relationships, and his son. She seems genuinely engaged with how the film explores Shakespeare's personal world rather than just his literary legacy.
About
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • Now a major motion picture starring ACADEMY AWARD® winner Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, and Joe Alwyn, directed by Chloé Zhao. The acclaimed author of the Reese's Book Club pick The Marriage Portrait delivers a deeply moving novel about the death of Shakespeare’s eleven-year-old son, Hamnet, and the years leading up to the production of his great play Hamlet . "Miraculous. . . . Brilliant. . . . A novel told with the urgency of a whispered prayer—or curse. . . . A richly drawn and intimate portrait of 16th-century English life set against the arrival of one devastating death." —Ron Charles, The Washington Post England, 1580: The Black Death creeps across the land, an ever-present threat, infecting the healthy, the sick, the old and the young alike. The end of days is near, but life always goes on.
Who said what
Michelle Obama👍 Recommends
…discussing a film that made the speaker cry deeply
“I watched Hamnet. Okay. Hamnet. This is my, you never watch movies. No. Because you're too busy on social media. No, I watch movies, but I haven't watched Hamnet. But Hamnet is a, the, the story of Shakespeare, the, his early life, his family life, his relationship. So it's a period piece, obviously. Um, and you learn about, uh, his son Hamnet. Um, he had three children, uh, two daughters and one son, and he lost his son. Um, and it talked about how, it, it, it explained how, um, that loss, his relationship helped fuel some of his greatest work. Chloe Zhao is the director, just a beautifully directed. Um, and it's just touching and powerful. And the ending, which I will not give it away, but it's a 10 minute ending. And there, there are no words.”
IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson — Your Questions Answered with Michelle and Craigat 05:46
Listener reviews
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