All Is True (2018)

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh | 97 minutes | biography, drama | Actors: Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Kathryn Wilder, Lydia Wilson, Ian McKellen, Hadley Fraser, Jack Colgrave Hirst, Sam Ellis, Sean Foley, Gerard Horan, Matt Jessup, Harry Lister Smith, Alex Macqueen, Nonso Anozie, Darryl Clark, Doug Colling, John Dagleish, Eleanor de Rohan, Hamish McColl, Michael Rouse, Penny Ryder, Kate Tydman, Jimmy Yuill

The plays of British poet, playwright and actor William Shakespeare have been translated into just about every language. His pieces are still the most performed. If you had access to all the film adaptations made of his works, you wouldn’t be able to watch them in one year. It’s really strange that hardly any films have been made about the life of the famous Englishman himself. The best known is ‘Shakespeare in Love’, but that is a fictional story. Kenneth Branagh’s film ‘All is True’ stays a little closer to the facts, although you can assume – despite the title suggesting otherwise – that the truth has been somewhat abused to make the story a bit more attractive.

In ‘All is True’ (a reference to the original title of Shakespeare’s play Henry VIII) we invade Shakespeare’s life when his beloved Globe Theater in London goes up in flames. Disillusioned and convinced he will never write again, Shakespeare (Kenneth Branagh himself) returns to Stratford-upon-Avon to reunite with his family. Wife Anne (Judi Dench) and two daughters, single Judith (Kathryn Wilder) and married Susanna (Lydia Wilson), have to adjust to the new situation. More often than not, Shakespeare has been absent from the family, so these new circumstances took some adaptability. There is no joy at the fact that the head of the family is again interfering with the affairs of the home. Rather irritation.

Shakespeare and Anne had a son, Hamnet, who died nearly twenty years earlier in 1596, aged just eleven. Shakespeare did not allow himself the time to mourn at the time, but now he is making up for this damage. He is determined to create a special garden in memory of what he considers to be a very talented son. Anne – invariably calling her husband ‘husband’ rather than by his first name, puts her finger on the sore spot when she observes: “You don’t mourn your son, you mourn yourself.” She is referring to the fact that Shakespeare realizes that his career as a playwright is at an end.

In ‘All Is True’ Shakespeare learns to deal with his family and vice versa, but also with the wrong choices he has made at their expense. The film not only offers insight into the writer’s vision of his life (and his desire to have an heir), but also certainly examines the point of view of the women in his life. We learn how Anne views her husband’s writing and see her slowly defrost against this ‘guest’ in her house (from the best bed in the house, which is intended for guests, he ends up in ‘the second best bed’, which he left her in his will). We see how unhappy Susanna’s marriage is. The main plot element, however, is Shakespeare’s idea of ​​his son Hamnet and the role played by twin sister Judith in it. In addition, ‘All Is True’ playfully pays attention to Shakespeare’s career (and perhaps sexual orientation) when the Earl of Southampton (a great Ian McKellen) pays him a visit.

The screenplay of ‘All Is True’ was written by Ben Elton. He has woven an inventive web around the few facts we know about Shakespeare. This creates an authentic-feeling history that we could best take for granted. The cinematography is beautiful, with beautiful shots of the landscape around Shakespeare’s home and great use of natural light. The tempo is perhaps a bit on the low side, but that doesn’t bother me at all. The film exudes Branagh’s love for the subject from every pore. Recommended for anyone who likes to immerse themselves in biographies of writers (whether exaggerated or not); costume dramas and lovers of Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench.