Anonymous (12A)
- Starring: Xavier Samuel, Rhys Ifans, Jamie Campbell Bower, Vanessa Redgrave, David Thewlis, Joely Richardson, Rafe Spall, Derek Jacobi
- Director: Roland Emmerich
- Duration: 130 mins
- Year: 2011
"Anonymous" speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds ranging from Mark Twain and Charles Dickens to Henry James and Sigmund Freud, namely: who was the author of the plays credited to William Shakespeare? Experts have debated, books have been written, and scholars have devoted their lives to protecting or debunking theories surrounding the authorship of the most renowned works in English literature. Anonymous poses one possible answer, focusing on a time when cloak-and-dagger political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles hungry for the power of the throne were exposed in the most unlikely of places: the London stage.
Reviews
Alison Rowat's Review
Was Shakespeare a fraud? That is the provocative question posed on the posters for Roland Emmerich’s period drama.
I’m not sure you could argue strongly for or against after this confused and confusing exploration of the theory.
Rhys Ifans plays the Earl of Oxford, who, in this version of history, is the one wot wrote the plays as a form of protest against the royal court of the day, led by Joely Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave playing the younger and older Elizabeth.
Meanwhile, a blowhard actor by the name of Will Shakespeare (Rafe Spall, as usual the best thing in the picture) takes all the credit to keep the Earl safe.
Roland Emmerich, who directed The Day After Tomorrow and Independence Day, gives the tale a blockbuster pace but too much explanation arrives too late.
Rather like a Shakespeare play, Anonymous takes an age to sort itself out while begging your indulgence for lots of long, boring stretches in which there’s much ado and speechifying about nothing.