All Is True: Film Review

All Is True: Film Review

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Alex Macqueen, Ian McKellen
Director: Kenneth Branagh

Offering up a different look at the Bard, former comedian, now turned writer Ben Elton offers up a poignant take on what next for William Shakespeare.

The later-in-life biopic takes Branagh's Shakespeare in 1613, who's forced to retire after fire destroys his Globe Theatre. Returning to Stratford-upon-Avon and his family, including wife Anne Hathaway (Dench), Shakespeare decides to build a garden to lost son Hamnet.

But Shakespeare's return isn't as welcome as he'd have expected, as former resentments resurface in the form of his unmarried daughter, and his wife who's unhappy he was never there when Hamnet died.

All Is True is a contemplative piece that ties together the strands of what next in more ways than one.

Imbued with a mournful tone, Branagh's film is shot in seclusion, in close ups and for the large part under candlelight. It gives the film an oppressive touch, which does much to display the mental state of all involved, and certainly proffers up much to consider.

Essentially the story of a long-conquering hero returning home to find his place usurped by the past and inadequecies of the present, All Is True greatly benefits from the dialled down edges of Branagh, as well as his supporting players.

Levity comes in the form of McKellen's muse and admirable Wriothesley, who breathes life into a brief cameo, but who delivers much in the way of insight into Shakespeare's state of mind.

There's plenty of elegaic touches on display throughout, and while the inevitable reveal of several well-timed truthbombs towards the end weights the denouement with exposition and robs the film of its meditative touches, there's still much to admire here.

All Is True may not be a powerhouse gut-punch of an emotional movie, but it certainly is a film that gives a different take on Shakespeare and offers insight into what many suffer for for their art.