A couple of months back, All Is True was announced as a surprise addition to the awards season calendar. At the time, it seemed like a legitimate contender. The tale of William Shakespeare in his later years comes from director Kenneth Branagh, who is no stranger to the Bard. His 1989 version of Henry V and 1996 Hamlet rendering both received Oscar nods, while Much Ado About Nothing and Othello (both from the mid 90s) did not. The filmmaker plays Shakespeare with a supporting cast including Judi Dench and Ian McKellen.
True is out in limited release today and a funny thing happened over the past few weeks. The picture received zero attention in precursors and the review embargo lifted just today. The result? Mixed critical reaction with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 57%.
Bottom line: I don’t expect this to garner any nominations come Oscar time as its fortunes clearly dwindled. And that, ladies and gentlemen, looks to be my final Oscar Watch post of 2018! My weekly predictions will be posted every Thursday up until the nominees are revealed. And as for what comes in 2019 – my Oscar Watch posts will continue…
