Historical romp Anonymous takes an academic controversy (did the man named Shakespeare write the plays attributed to him?) and whips it into a lurid melodrama, crammed with political intrigue, heaving bosoms, flashing swordplay, conspiracies, forced marriage, incest, and more. Towards the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans, Enduring Love), seeks an outlet for his poetic drive: he tries to get the playwright Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto) to present his plays as Jonson's own. Jonson is reluctant to undercut his own work ... but his friend, a vainglorious illiterate actor by the name of William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall), happily claims the glory when Oxford's plays prove hugely popular. But the real story of Anonymous isn't about authorship, it's about machinations to capture the throne of England when Elizabeth (Vanessa Redgrave) dies. Wily counselors vie with dashing secret heirs, royal dallying leads to shocking secrets, and supposedly the plays are inextricably caught up in it all--except that they're not, really, and so Anonymous, for all its clever plotting and lush production values, falls flat by the end. Still, it's an enjoyable confection up to then, and showcases some lovely (if woefully historically inaccurate--the mosh-pit moment is delightfully preposterous) presentations of bits of the plays. Also featuring David Thewlis (Naked) and Joely Richardson, daughter of Ms. Redgrave, playing the younger Elizabeth. --Bret Fetzer [show more]
"Was Shakespeare a fraud?" asks the film's provocative tagline; it's an interesting question and one that's vexed and intrigued readers / fans of the Bard for decades. In 'Anonymous', director Roland Emmerich attempts to answer it. The story sees talented nobleman Edward De Vere (a complex and subtly powerful performance by Rhys Ifans) pen the plays we attribute to William Shakespeare, De Vere's Puritan household shuns all forms of creativity and so he pays struggling playwright Ben Johnson (Sebastian Armesto) to put his name to the works. But Johnson, uncomfortable with the ruse and still harbouring dreams to make it on his own, escapes the deal. Enter Will Shakespeare (Rafe Spall) an illiterate, comedic actor who takes Johnson's place in the plan and becomes one of only a handful of people who know the truth.
'Anonymous' tells it's story over the course of 40 years and viewers will have to keep their wits about them if they hope to keep track of the timeline. For the film addresses the all important issue of the plays but also weaves in a compelling subplot revolving around The Essex Rebellion during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, played, in a stroke of casting genius, by mother and daughter Vanessa Redgrave and Joley Richardson.
Now some critics were loathe to give the director of 'Independence Day', 'Godzilla', '2012' and '10,000 B.C.' a fair go, and I'm guessing others simply dismissed it offhand as if Emmerich, given his CV, simply isn't allowed to make a good film. But what's great about 'Anonymous' is that many of the director's own anxieties appear to manifest themselves through De Vere. Especially the line where he scorns Ben Johnson's false modesty and reluctance to accept himself as an artist of importance: "All art is political, Johnson, otherwise it would just be decoration. And all artists have something to say; otherwise they'd make shoes. And you're not a cobbler, are you, Johnson?"
The script reads like Tom Stoppard meets Ezra Pound and actually makes the era rather fun and accessible without patronizing the uninitiated with Baz Luhrmann-esque post-modernism or imitating the rank absurdity of high camp, revisionist hacks like Zack Synder. Straddling the line between entertaining historical fiction and legitimate historical revisionism, 'Anonymous' is a well paced, well acted and underrated film, which didn't get much attention at the cinemas but deserves to be rediscovered at home. Historical fiction at its best.
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Roland Emmerich directs this political thriller based around the notion that William Shakespeare was not in fact the author of the canon of plays attributed to him. In Elizabethan England, political intrigue abounds as the Tudors and the Cecils battle it out over the succession of Queen Elizabeth I (Joely Richardson/Vanessa Redgrave), and the Essex Rebellion mobilises against her. Enter the dashing and wildly talented Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (Jamie Campbell Bower/Rhys Ifans), who not only fathers an illegitimate son in a clandestine incestuous relationship with Queen Elizabeth, but is also the secret author of the plays labeled with the name of William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall).
Please note this is a region B Blu-ray and will require a region B or region free Blu-ray player in order to play. Was Shakespeare a Fraud? Set in the political snake-pit of Elizabethan England Anonymous speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds... who was the author of the plays credited to William Shakespeare? 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 were exposed in the most unlikely of places: the London stage. Special Features: Commentary with Director Roland Emmerich and Writer John Orloff Who Is The Real William Shakespeare? Deleted Scenes More Than Special Effects Speak The Speech... Extended Scenes Anonymous PS3 Wallpaper/Theme
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