All Is True

"Kenneth Branagh directs and stars as William Shakespeare in this biopic that recounts the final years of the Bard's life. Co-starring Judi Dench and Ian McKellen, you'd think this'd be the perfect material for Branagh to bring to life. Unfortunately, as Adam Fresco details, it's all a bit plodding and unconvincing."

"The result is a revisionist fiasco, too dense with Shakespeare allusions for casual moviegoers, and too fast and loose with the facts for those who know a thing or two about the man."

"Iit's the absence of grandstanding, of Stoppardian showing off, that makes this film different, as a lovely meditation on what parts of a man's legacy truly matter."

"All Is True is sentimental, theatrical, likable - and unfashionable."

"All is True maybe delivers just enough to maybe please the Branagh and Dench diehards, but it's an insubstantial and frustrating film for the rest of us. Shame really."

"A tender, intelligent imagining of the playwright in retirement."

"Shakespeare's genius and legacy are addressed, but not overly dwelled upon by the film, which is more interested in exploring his familial relationships and his lingering concerns over his social standing."

"Watching Branagh and McKellen in gently dueling versions of Sonnet 29 provides that pleasure; the rest of "All Is True," unfortunately, strains to honour its beloved subject."

"A serviceable take on the Bard's latter days."

"A quiet and meditative portrait of the artist as a retiree, this lacks incident or high stakes but has an elegiac feeling of regret and reckoning that fits its subject's twilight years."