Review of Anonymous (2011) by Tierah H — 27 Feb 2012

I found the storytelling to be wonderful and the ability to weave the fiction through the known historical events was really well done. I've read a book previously about the Shakespeare 'mystery', it was called The Shakespeare Secret by JL Carrell, and it covered much the same ground, but with a lot more detail and conspiracy theory-ness about it.

I think it was a nice break from Emmerich, and I think that several of the performances were delightfully emotional and strong, even as I say I don't really agree with the movie's main plot, that of Shakespeare being a 'ghost writer' front and an illiterate swine.

The excess bits about who is whose child, and all the implications therein, were extras, even if they did make the movie well padded with plot and betrayals. The movie itself was gorgeous, even if the makeup for aging the actors needed some work, as it was hard to tell how many years were supposed to have passed because everyone seemed to stay the same age.