'All's Well that Ends All' is not one of Shakespeare's best-known plays, lesser known more like. It is somewhat unorthodox for Shakespeare and was unorthodox at the time, with its depiction of gender role reversals and how surprisingly realistically cynical it is. It is also one of the most difficult Shakespeare plays to stage and interpret, with it being very psychological and having to bring it out compellingly and realistically.
That is a shame because it is an interesting play, both as an overall play and to analyse. 'All's Well that Ends Well' is not one of Shakespeare's best by any stretch, but all Shakespeare plays are worth reading and seeing at least once and 'All's Well that Ends Well' is no exception. It is funny, thought-provoking and sometimes very moving, with Shakespeare's mastery of language and memorable quotes always shining. This is a great production from Shakespeare's Globe and among the better filmed post-2007 productions of theirs of Shakespeare's lesser known plays. It's beautifully performed, entertaining, moving and mostly overcomes the potential problems.
My only complaint is Bertram's conversion, too rushed and abrupt. But in all fairness that is the Achilles heel of the play and few productions overcome it.
However, everything else is great and more. The acting is on point, especially touching Ellie Piercy, noble Janie Dee and Colin Hurley's amusing and never annoying Lavatch. Sam Crane avoids making Bertram one dimensional, with times where he comes over as cold and egotistical and others where he's sympathetic. The cast do incredibly well at making their characters psychologically interesting and complex and in a way that comes over realistically and never dully. The production is tastefully directed throughout, everything flowing smoothly and everything being coherent with any fresh touches never coming over as gratuitous.
It is a very striking production visually. The simple dark backdrop being very effective in the night scenes and the costumes are very elegant. The photography is intimate but not claustrophobic and it successfully helps in making one feel that they are there observing the action in how Shakespeare intended it to be. The music is effective and not overused or over-scored, the percussion on paper sounded like an unusual choice for instrumentation but it's done very well.
Shakespeare's text always shines, the mix of comedy and drama beautifully balanced. Individually, both are done excellently, the comedy is genuinely funny and the dramatic moments are suitably melancholic. Ending is very moving and the atmosphere has real authenticity.
Concluding, excellent production of an overlooked if imperfect work. 9/10.
