Review of Anonymous (2011) by Daniel G — 01 Mar 2012

As a supporter of the doubts into Shakespeareâ(TM)s authorship and a fan of the Oxfordian theory, I wanted âAnonymousâ? to be a success however I had my doubts when I saw the name Roland Emmerich (Independence Day & 2012) attached to the project.

Yet to my surprise, not only was âAnonymousâ? not bad, it was actually very good. Historical errors aside, Emmerich creates a visually stunning historical background and fills it with extremely well written and thought out characters.

Rhys Ifans leads a stunning British cast including Vanessa Redgrave, David Thewlis, Edward Gogg, Joely Richardson, and many more, but the best role and performance most go to Rafe Spall for his outstanding portrayal as the often drunk and constantly lusting illiterate William Shakespeare.

The film plays like a Shakespearean epic with so much betrayal, lust, greed, violence, and political intrigue and really is a feast for the senses and is definitely one of the more memorable films of 2011.