All is True

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Kathryn Wilder, Lydia Wilson, Ian McKellen

Director: Kenneth Branagh

After the Globe Theater burns down, William Shakespeare (Kenneth Branagh) retires and returns to his hometown, the quiet Stratford, to mourn the death of his son Hamnet, garden, and reconcile with Anne Hathaway (Judi Dench) and his daughters. Scandal soon follows, as the playwright soon discovers one of his daughters, Susannah (Lydia Wilson), is caught in a torrid affair while his other daughter, Judith (Kathryn Wilder), remains unwed, which puts Shakespeare's ability to bequeath his inheritance to a male heir in jeopardy. Soon, more family secrets surface in what would become the Bard's final days.

Taking a break from directing studio films, Branagh returns with a quiet character study of his hero William Shakespeare. Because not much is actually known about his final days, this is very much what Branagh and writer Ben Elton interpret them to have been about. Their interpretation allows for some interesting plot points, most of which center around how he underestimated and mistreated the women in his life. Upon his return, Anne banishes him to the guest bedroom because he was gone so long she considers him a guest. When he challenges his daughter Judith on why she hasn't gotten married, she challenges his views on gender roles. It allows Branagh to explore the misogyny of the time.

Less successful is the film’s approach to the death of Shakespeare’s son Hamnet, who left behind writings that signaled the tragic passing of an undiscovered genius. The circumstances around his death are treated as a tragic family secret and his ghost hangs over Shakespeare in many scenes. The resolution to this subplot isn't shocking and is one of the more pretentious and indulgent aspects of the film.

While the film is well shot, opening with a stunning silhouette of Shakespeare watching the Globe theater burn down, the film has trouble sustaining interest. The film is slow. While there is always something going on, the pace hurts the film. Not helping matters is the fact that the resolution of Susannah's scandal is so abrupt and anticlimactic, it is kind of frustrating that we follow it for the first half of the film. I admire Branagh for using candles to light many of the scenes, giving the film a natural feel, but it results in a very dark film.

The cast in uniformly excellent but I must single out Kathryn Wilder, who plays Shakespeare's outspoken daughter Judith. I didn't recognize the actress, though an IMDb search showed she had small, probably background roles in Murder on the Orient Express and Ready Player One and had done some theater work with the Branagh Theater Company in the past. I was captivated by her performance and I hope to see her cast in some larger roles.

Branagh and Ian McKellen only share one scene together, but it's an incredibly well written and compelling one, which allows the two powerhouse actors to take the stage. The scene concerns some of Shakespeare's sonnets which were leaked without his permission, that were about the love between Shakespeare and a male suitor. While it has never been confirmed whether it was love between two friends or between two lovers or who they were actually even about, this allows Branagh and Elton to interpret that they were written about Henry Wriothesley, played by McKellen. This sort of revisionist history adds to the pretentious nature and may turn some people off, but I was fascinated and sold by the actors performances.

While this fictional film is slow and slightly pretentious, the acting is excellent and allows Branagh to explore some of the more controversial aspects of the world’s most famous playwright.

C+