All Is True

There are so many mysteries in history, things we'll never know for sure. For instance, everything about Shakespeare is slightly mysterious. This movie focus on his last years and it is based on the very few written documents regarding Shakespeare's family and affairs. This script, based on those few, arid legal documents is pure speculation, but loving speculation from someone who admires Shakespeare a good deal.

We can travel back in time and watch what could have been the final part of Shakespeare's life, back home. Played by Kenneth himself, Will is a slightly disappointed man, who at first does not find much comfort in his family. His wife Anne is resentful, his spinster daughter Judith even more so. Married daughter Susanna is also unhappy, but most of all Will is grieving for the loss of his only son, Hamnet. Allegedly struck down at 11 by the plague over 10 years earlier, Hamnet used to send poems to his father.

Will believes his son to have had a great literary talent and that makes him ever more disconsolate by his premature departure. Judith, being Hamnet's twin sister thinks her father would have preferred her to die and she's obviously hurt. However, there is a secret waiting to be told, which will contribute to give Will the closure he so much needs.

A word about the actors: Branagh is excellent as Shakespeare, definitely not recognizable as himself, but Judi Dench, playing wife Anne is too old for the part. As mentioned by many, Anne was only a few years older than William, but in this movie she could be his mother. Beautifully shot in the English countryside, the movie has an artistic quality to it, an atmospheric melancholic feeling that will be appreciate by many, but definitely not a movie for the masses.

Branagh seemed stuck with inertia in this period piece as he seemed to consider every sentence before speaking.. However, the rest of the cast were not so dumbstruck and if anything this little tale served to ensure that Shakespeare was first a man of his time and not just a playwrght. Excellent production, but this was rather slow and plodding but was well served by some fine cameos, particularly from Judi Dench and Ian McKellen.

A rather melancholy account of Shakespeare's declining years in Stratford, though there are a few more cheerful moments to lighten the gloom. Shakespeare comes home to stay after having been mostly absent in London for the past twenty years, still brooding over the death of his son Hamnet, and is given a moderate welcome by his wife Anne (the ever reliable Judi Dench) and his two daughters. There are some amusing references to the 'second best bed' (which Shakespeare famously left his wife in his will) and a rather unlikely plot about some poetry which may or may not have been written by the long dead Hamnet. Meanwhile his daughters have their own problems. It is all a bit sad and slow, but with some pleasant touches that make it worth watching.

The film for large parts is not all that memorable but never the less enjoyable at the same times. At times it is witty, others heartwarming and other times ventures into the darkness of loss and emotional rifts in a family all in a rather understated manner. Yes I may well not remember much about it come the end of the year but for a low budget drama it is excellently acted and very enjoyable indeed without being particularly spectacular.

I appreciated this thoughtful film, and Branagh did a marvelous job helming it while also portraying Shakespeare. Another reviewer scoffed at the historical inaccuracy due to the real-life age difference between Branagh and Dench. This chronology was not distracting to me, because both actors gave convincing portrayals. Costumes and set design were outstanding. The gorgeous English countryside stood in as another character, of sorts. During the pre-release screening (USA), the director revealed a fascinating fact: several of the interior scenes were lit by candles, absent of any set lights. I was taken by Branagh's passionate and studied approach to Shakespeare, and this film is a fine example.