Review of Anonymous (2011) by Spencer S — 31 Dec 2012

Anonymous is a film that straddles the lines between fact, fiction, and speculation while retaining every bit of its poignant drama. Lending to the long debated issue of the Shakespearean authorship, this film speculates on the Oxfordian theory of authorship, giving credit to Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford.

Weaving true history and dramatic license, the film is often engaging and educational in certain ways while expounding on others in order to keep the audience intrigued. The film was a labor of love from screenwriter John Orloff and director of schlock Roland Emmerich, which took almost twenty years to make.

Apparently suspicion over the true authorship of Shakespeare's work rose to prominence in the mid twentieth century after he was named the greatest author of all time. Some eighty supposed authors have been named in finding some better educated and schooled author, compared to the lowly actor that was Shakespeare.

Most of the theoretical plot makes sense, as the Earl was a ward of the Queen, wrote plays and poems, and could have easily made the rounds in the theaters, but many facts were distorted, and should have been in order to make this film work.

Why de Vere ever gives his plays over to Ben Jonson, and eventually taken by Will Shakespeare, makes little sense as it was because of an oncoming insurrection by Essex and his son. The way de Vere speaks to every character with such insolence and pomp, plying his plays to Shakespeare under the assumption that they will be massively popular, makes him unfeasibly pretentious.

The flashbacks to various points of history was intriguing yet bothersome, and usually leaves one feeling unsure of the true set of events. At the very end the truth is changed so much that the subject of incest even arises, a far cry from the truth of the matter, but is the only way to tie up a loathsome plot.

The performances themselves were amazing, including from Jamie Campbell Bower as a young de Vere, Vanessa Redgrave and her daughter Joely Richardson as Queen Elizabeth I, and Rhys Ifans as the Earl. It was a film that certainly captivated and wasn't difficult to follow, but it was so obviously false in sections, and libelous when it came to the character of Shakespeare, showing him as a greedy oaf, that you couldn't truly enjoy it.

That and the ending being so blatantly devious made the film come off as money hungry and trying too hard, blame which I perch on director Roland Emmerich's shoulders. Interesting, but certainly not the educational view you're expecting.