Rating:
****/*****, or 7/10
Roland
Emmerich, who usually spends his time directing epic disaster movies
the likes of The Day After Tomorrow and 2012,
apparently felt like a change of subject matter and directed this
fine costume drama, which addresses the question as to the true
identity of William Shakespeare. Emmerich shows himself to be a
proponent of the Oxfordian theory that says the Bard's works were in
fact written by the Earl of Oxford, Edward De Vere (Rhys Ifans),
instead of by the commoner known as Will Shakespeare. That character
(of which we admittedly do know less that we would like), Emmerich states, was just a
frontman used to spread the Earl's plays and poems to an ever growing
audience that loved them, partially because of the social commentary
and incendiary situations they contained, something De Vere would not
dare take credit for during the background of the Essex rebellion
against the English Throne. Of course the Earl does have a hidden
agenda of his own with his plays, namely the discrediting of his political
rivals and winning the favour of the aging Queen Elizabeth (Vanessa
Redgrave). Unfortunately for him, his tactic soon spirals out of his
control as the loudmouth Shakespeare, played by a delightfully
boisterous Rafe Spall, gets drunk on “his” success and threatens
to undermine De Vere's efforts. Filled with political intrigue, a
number of saucy plots and ploys and the rich history and fabulously grimy period look of the
Elizabethan era, Anonymous admittedly is not on the level of
actual Shakespeare plays, but a fairly smart and solid historical
drama nonetheless, revealing that Emmerich can pull off other
things besides destroying cities just as well. Needless to say,
people who question the true identity of the author of this movie
will be in for a bit of a surprise: it's really Emmerich.
Starring:
Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Rafe Spall
Directed
by Roland Emmerich
USA/UK:
Columbia Pictures, 2011
