--- title: "All Is True: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/all-is-true/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/all-is-true" critics_score: 54 critics_reviews: 20 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # All Is True (2018): what the critics said Critics' score 54 from 20 reviews: 3 positive, 10 mixed, 7 negative. The reviews lean mixed, and the warmest of them are modest. Most critics find the film quiet, melancholy and sincere, a small portrait of Shakespeare’s last years that is more likeable than compelling. The praise lands almost entirely on one scene: the firelit exchange between Branagh and Ian McKellen’s Earl of Southampton, which even the harshest reviews single out as a reminder of how well both men speak the verse. Judi Dench and Kathryn Wilder are also credited with giving the household more spirit than the writing allows them. The reservations cluster on that writing. Critics call the script expository, solemn and short on incident, and several find Branagh’s prosthetic nose and wig a distraction. The spread is wide. The Telegraph gives the film four stars as a witty meditation on legacy, while Variety dismisses it as a sloppy soap opera, and most of the twenty sit somewhere in the unenthusiastic middle. ## The Telegraph — Tim Robey Rating 4/5. 7 February 2019. Robey gives the film a positive review. He praises its witty, lovely meditation on Shakespeare’s legacy. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/all-is-true/?WT.mc_id=tmgspk_pzf_2390_Ar1DFYTRYJrn) ## The AV Club — Mike D'Angelo Rating B. 7 May 2019. D’Angelo finds the film a credible, engrossing melodrama, though its family drama cannot compete with Shakespeare’s enduring genius. He especially praises Branagh’s ardent recitation of a sonnet to the Earl of Southampton. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/shakespeare-superfan-kenneth-branagh-finally-plays-the-1834583632) ## Slant Magazine — Wes Greene Rating 3/4. 6 May 2019. Greene finds the film an intimate, thoughtful portrait that makes Shakespeare feel human, despite occasional clunky dialogue. He especially praises the monologue about Shakespeare’s deceased son as a striking expression of the playwright’s flaws. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review-kenneth-branaghs-all-is-true-brings-shakespeare-down-to-earth/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 68/100 (inferred from the text). 21 December 2018. Bradshaw finds the film sentimental, likable and melancholy, though some moments feel less sure. He particularly praises the elegantly managed exchange between Shakespeare and the Earl of Southampton. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/dec/21/all-is-true-review-ben-elton-kenneth-branagh-shakespeare) ## Empire — Helen O'Hara Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 6 February 2019. O’Hara finds the film quiet and meditative, with an elegiac sense of regret, though it lacks incident and high stakes. She singles out the confrontation between Shakespeare and the Earl of Southampton as quietly devastating. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/true-review/) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The blocked page provides no critic verdict. It offers no information about what the critic praised or criticized. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/all-is-true-2019) ## Screen Daily — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 21 December 2018. The available page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It also provides no specific praise or complaint beyond identifying the film as a dramatisation of Shakespeare’s final years. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/all-is-true-review/5135381.article) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 9 May 2019. The page shell identifies a New York Times review of the matching film, but provides no critical verdict. It contains no accessible detail about what the critic praised or criticized. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/09/movies/all-is-true-review.html) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Rating 3/5. 8 February 2019. O'Sullivan finds the drama ludicrous and short on intentional laughs, but ultimately involving. She praises Judi Dench's witchy presence and Ian McKellen's spellbinding performance. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/all-is-true-review-alls-well-that-ends-well-in-bard-drama-a4061401.html) ## Radio Times — Trevor Johnston Rating 3/5. Johnston describes the film as a relatively modest, poignant treatment of Shakespeare’s final years. He singles out Branagh’s prosthetic nose and wig as disconcerting. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-ws2iiy/all-is-true/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2018. McCarthy finds the film respectable but overly expository, with limited complexity and appeal. He singles out the fireside conversation with Ian McKellen as its highlight. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/all-is-true-review-1166819/) ## IndieWire — David Ehrlich Rating C. 21 December 2018. Ehrlich finds the film inert and self-serious, with its portrait of Shakespeare failing to reconcile genius and family life. He praises Kathryn Wilder’s performance for conveying Judith’s love and contempt at once. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/all-is-true-review-kenneth-branagh-shakespeare-1202029945/) ## Little White Lies — Caitlin Quinlan Rating 3/2/2. 7 February 2019. Quinlan finds the biopic pompous, self-indulgent, and overly reverential toward Shakespeare. She faults it for glossing over the pain he caused his family and failing to examine his relationships more deeply. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/all-is-true) ## Time Out — Dan Jolin Rating 2/5. 1 February 2019. The review finds the drama rich in poetry but lacking sophistication. It singles out the film’s poetry as a strength, while criticizing its lack of sophistication. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/all-is-true) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 8 May 2019. Lane finds the film slow and loose, with a mostly autumnal mood, though he sees enough value to recommend not skipping it. He singles out the firelit exchange between Branagh and Ian McKellen as a moving showcase for their command of Shakespeare’s verse. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/05/20/why-make-movies-about-writers) ## Los Angeles Times — Robert Abele Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 18 December 2018. Abele finds the film a disappointing, high-culture plod that strains to honor Shakespeare. He singles out the fireside exchange between Branagh and Ian McKellen as a moving glimpse of the play the film might have been. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-all-is-true-review-20181218-story.html) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 21 December 2018. Debruge dismisses the film as a revisionist fiasco and a sloppy soap opera. He criticizes Branagh’s distracting prosthetics and the screenplay’s clumsy dialogue and speculative treatment of Shakespeare’s life. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/all-is-true-review-kenneth-branagh-shakespeare-1203094669/) ## HeyUGuys Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). The critic finds the film thoughtful and flawed, with its emotional impact strongest in understated moments. They praise the fireside conversation with Ian McKellen and the period design, while faulting the script’s heavy exposition and lack of nuance. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/all-is-true-review/) ## Eye for Film — Donald Munro Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 11 February 2019. Munro finds the film ordinary, bitty, and incohesive. He praises the cinematography and landscape shots but criticizes Branagh’s performance and conspicuous prosthetics. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/all-is-true-2018-film-review-by-donald-munro) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 8 May 2019. The critic finds the biopic solemn and weighed down, failing to match the insight of Branagh’s Shakespeare adaptations. Dench and Wilder are praised for bringing depth and spirit to their characters. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/all-is-true-film-review-kenneth-branagh-shakespeare-judi-dench/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/all-is-true.md