ALL IS TRUE

ALL IS TRUE:   Directed by the multi-talented Kenneth Branagh who also portrays William Shakespeare in this outing, the film examines his declining years.  Judi Dench is on board as Anne Hathaway, the long suffering wife of the bard and Ian McKellan (appearing in only one scene) portrays the Earl of Southampton to whom the bard dedicated many of his sonnets.   When his renowned Globe Theater burns to the ground, the devastated Shakespeare returns to his home in Stratford where he must face his neglected family and some unresolved troubles of his two daughters while he still mourns the lost of his only son.   Mr. Branagh seems to want us to believe that the Shakespeares were just ordinary people and the script does a lot to get that idea across but I had the feeling that it is based more on speculation than truth.   But still, it's a worthwhile film, albeit slow going in the first hour.  Just to see Branagh and Dench together is a joy.