Review of All Is True (2018) by Dawdlingpoet — 27 Nov 2021

I thought this was a reasonably good film - there's a good cast and Judi Dench gives a particularly decent performance but I did find Branagh's prosthetics quite distracting - it didn't quite look right, it was a bit overly embellished or some such. Ian McKellen looked more the part as the earl of Southampton, I thought.

There are definitely some poignant moments but there are relatively dull moments too. Of course the story of Shakespeare's young son dying and him not being there to witness it, is a sad one - its nothing to trivialise at all, certainly. I believe this film was written by Ben Elton and I could see that it perhaps inspired him to go on to write the BBC TV sitcom 'Upstart Crow' - indeed, Shakespeare is called precisely that during the film. There is some nice scenery, so that's a plus as well but I did think the script could perhaps have been improved, as on ocassion it felt a little slow and without a real structure. I reckon it's worth sticking with, as it becomes most poignant right towards the end but if your not keen on period dramas, or interested in Shakespeare, then its not really worth seeing. Also, I should point out that it is a fictionalised account of what happened during the final years of Shakespeare's life, after the famous Globe theatre was burnt to the ground. The irony of the film being called 'All Is True' has not passed me by(!). It does provide food for thought but I wouldn't say its one of my favourite films of this sort (costume/period dramas), no. If your a fan of Judi Dench, however, I would recommend it and if your interested in a pre-Upstart Crow Shakespeare film written by Ben Elton.