'All Is True' A Review

All Is True is a biographical drama about the latter days of William Shakespeare. After the Globe Theatre burns old Billy Shakes(Kenneth Branagh also director/producer) returns to his family estate to settle in and enjoy retirement. But after being abandoned, ignored, and relegated to the sidelines for years his wife Anne(Judi Dench) and daughters Susanna(Lydia Wilson) and Judith(Kathryn Wilder) aren't particular warm or interested in his return. Billy has old friends visit tell him how amazing he is, he mourns his son who has been dead for over a decade, and passive aggressively guilt's his daughters for not having boys, and also maybe he's gay? Dude can write tho we know that for sure because people keep saying it out loud to him.

Dench, artistic treasure that she is, brings some much needed reality and artistic integrity to a project that veers wildly from compelling emotion to narcissistic fantasy. The same is true of Wilder who is the only character who is allowed enough time to really develop other than Branagh although the machinations of the script ultimately prevent her from a transformative performance that she is clearly capable. Wilson, unfortunately, is virtually all but wasted. Branagh is a tremendous talent but his pomposity and tendency towards self aggrandizement have always been his downfall. There are countless shots of Branagh as old Billy the Bard in profile against a forest with blowing leaves or a setting sun or a golden field for no apparent reason. There are some strikingly well acted scenes many done in virtual single-takes but ultimately the antiquated politics, tone deafness, and odd narrative focus undermine the formidable acting talent.

The biggest issue is the sexism on display, old Billy wants and needs a male heir(we know because he can't stop talking about it), one of his daughter is a frustrated artist but she wasn't deemed worthy enough to attend school so she can't read or write old Billy doesn't particularly care or understand why that's an issue, both his daughters are in odd if not straight up unhappy marriages and he couldn't be happier. This may be historically accurate but if the intention was historical accuracy the movie shouldn't have been made in the first place, we know the treatment of women has historically been awful and watching it dramatized isn't entertaining or informative. From the jump the intention is clearly to tell the story of Shakespeare in his later days reconnecting with his family after he essentially abandoned them for decades for fame and fortune. But ultimately he doesn't actually connect with them, he's a blundering sexist narcissist, so what's the point of telling the story in the first place?

Don't See It.