Review of Anonymous (2011) by Farron K — 04 Mar 2017

4/5 Stars. Seen this once before, but still a great film. The critics and it seems a fair amount of the public whinged quite heavily over this. It is a film about the mystery of Shakespeare's lack of credibility as the greatest playwright of all-time, given his upbringing. The truth is, in the film, that the Earl of Oxford was the true author and wished to have his voice heard without causing himself to be executed. The plot thereafter is Shakespearean in itself, with intrigue, betrayal, envy, complex relationships, and so on. A number of the plays are briefly featured, and my soliloquy from Romeo & Juliet is therein, thankfully.

The director did a Tarantino and has some sequences out of chronological order, though not without at least giving you an on-screen text indication or obvious change in age. This seems to have bothered some people, who I assume are also frightened by anything resembling complexity. That aside, the ending is definitely not something you would see coming, which also proved a point of contention amongst the plebeians.

Overall, a great film and a fantastic watch if you combine it in sequence with "The Tudors" and the two Cate Blanchett "Elizabeth" movies. Fuck the haters.