All Is True (Dir. Kenneth Branagh, UK, 2018)

Definition

All is True is a 2018 film directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh; it was written by Ben Elton. The film depicts Shakespeare in his retirement at Stratford-upon-Avon: Rather than having an easy retirement, he finds that he must battle with frustrated family members as well as his own grief about Hamnet’s death. But he is ultimately reconciled to his close family and dies believing that he has exorcized Hamnet’s ghost and that he will be revered as a writer for centuries to come.

All is True is a film that depicts Shakespeare in retirement. It is a film that is often quiet: It depicts a preindustrial Stratford-upon-Avon with some aplomb: despite a low budget, the film attracted major actors and is enriched by location work that is defined by muted, autumnal colors and by interior lighting that recalls Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndonin its use of sensuous candlelight. The story is based on a very few facts about Shakespeare’s life and death; most of the film is highly...