Review of Anonymous (2011) by Jillian L — 08 Jul 2013

So, I enjoy Shakespeare, and even though I'm skeptical about all the conspiracy theories surrounding his work, I decided to watch this anyway. And I'm kind of in the middle of the road here. On one hand, delving into the origin of all those plays was really interesting, and seeing what inspired them, whether it is actually true or not, was really cool.

But there were other parts I was like really? Like the whole modern day play thing used as the bookends? Yeah not needed. Plus all of that was inaccurate. The actor rushing in and walking onstage and starts talking? No clapping at the end of the show? Yeah no.

I don't know if it's because I'm a theatre person, but stuff like that bugs me haha. But, back to the movie. Also, the whole random affair withe the queen, and the many twists and turns that followed? That's the stuff that made me skeptical, instead of the Shakespeare stuff.

Also, seeing Shakespeare portrayed as an illiterate drunkard versus how we normally see him was a little odd, but it fit with the premise of the movie. On that topic, the acting is quite good from this ensemble case that includes Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, David Thewlis and more.

Overall, this is interesting and kept my attention, but it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for.