A film about the final years of Shakespeare's life, in his home town of Stratford-on-Avon, starring Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench, with Ian McKellen.
What's it like: Historical costume drama. Careful, thoughtful, quite moving.
The film reconstructs (as much as one can) the final three years of William Shakespeare's life, after he retires to Stratford-upon-Avon in 1613. Although we only have basic knowledge of this part of his life, there is enough to construct most of the film.
Actors: Kenneth Branagh as William Shakespeare, Judi Dench as Anne Hathaway his wife, Ian McKellen as the Earl of Southampton
Plot: William Shakespeare, who has enjoyed great success as a playwright and theatre manager in London, retires to Stratford in 1613, after the Globe burns down in an accidental fire.
He returns to find his domestic life in some disarray: he is a stranger to his family (wife Anne and daughters Susanna and Judith) and some long-running issues have not been resolved. His son Hamnet died in 1596 and the other family members feel he should have been in Stratford to mourn him - certainly, Shakespeare himself has not fully worked through his grief. His daughter Susanna has married a respectable Puritan doctor, John Hall, but is becoming embroiled in a scandal; and Judith, at age 28, is still unmarried - a very late age to be single in the 1600s.
Meanwhile, Shakespeare is coming to terms with his new status back in Stratford, where many people are less than respectful of his work and success in the theatre. On the brighter side, he has visits from his friends the Earl of Southampton and the playwright Ben Jonson.
Comment: This is a very good reconstruction of Shakespeare's final years in Stratford. The houses, streets and costume are all excellently done. There is also a full depiction of family life; the roles of men and women; and the importance of social status and religion in everyday life.
In terms of his domestic life, the little we know about Shakespeare's family is enough to build most of the film. The first two-thirds of the film is probably quite accurate. But in the final third, the script moves into speculation and I think goes too far, creating a very convoluted and probably inaccurate scenario - which was probably crafted to reflect 21st century issues more than 1600s ones. So, if you're watching the film to find out what things were like, one can rely on the first two-thirds, but not really the final third.
The main failing of the film is a lack of excitement: it mainly comes across as just one event after another. It is a quiet, thoughtful reproduction of Shakespeare's life, but it lacks an overarching and compelling story to draw the viewer in. However, the final third does draw various threads together in an interesting way. (Curiously, I re-watched some of the film and on a second viewing found it much more gripping.)
The acting is very good from all: there is not one poor part. Kenneth Branagh plays Shakespeare as a steady, decent, thoughtful man, and there are occasional flashes of language and wit which do sound very like Shakespeare's authentic voice. Judi Dench plays the down-to-earth, sensible, less educated Anne who is often a good common sense foil to William's dreamy musings. Ian McKellen is excellent as the grandly dressed Earl of Southampton. Susanna, Judith and John Hall are all well-played.
For the aficionado of Shakespeare's life, there are refs to various items we know from his life at this stage: the young William's expulsion from school for stealing a deer; a swan moving on a lake in the background (Shakespeare was known as 'the swan of Avon'); why his will granted 'the second best bed' to his wife Anne; his father's expulsion from church (for being a recusant (a Catholic refusing to take communion) and/or because of money troubles); and the story that his final illness was brought on by an evening of 'too much merriment' drinking with Ben Jonson the playwright.
Writer: It was written by Ben Elton, the comedian-comedy writer. He is also the scriptwriter of the BBC comedy Upstart Crow about Shakespeare, so he's clearly having a Shakespeare phase. This is not Ben Elton's first foray into serious writing: he also wrote a novel about the First World War.
Interesting fact: The film title 'All Is True' is an alternative title to WS' final play, Henry VIII. During the film, Shakespeare exhorts a young writer to work from his imagination, then everything he writes will be true. This is possibly an allusion to a line in Hamlet: 'To thine own self be true: though canst not then be false to any man'. It's a nice post-modern touch for a 21st century interpretation: the truth of the subjective viewpoint.
Verdict: 3.5/5 or 7/10 Well reconstructed and interesting, but not gripping. It moves along slowly. A must for the Shakespeare fan. If you're not a core fan, you probably won't find it gripping but it's a useful portrait of everyday life in the early 1600s in England.
IMDB: 3/5 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9206798/
Similar films: The obvious one is 'Shakespeare In Love', which won Oscar for Best Film in the late 1990s. It recreates Shakespeare's life as a playwright in London. It is light-hearted and playful in tone, whereas All Is True is a more serious film. 13 September 2019
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