Anonymus (2011)

Anonymus: Directed by Roland Emmerich. With Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Sebastian Armesto, Rafe Spall. The theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, who penned Shakespeare’s plays. Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I and the Essex rebellion against her.

“Greetings again from the darkness. While it is clear that writer John Orloff and director Roland Emmerich believe that Edward De Vere, The Earl of Oxford, and not Will Shakespeare, wrote the infamous and iconic plays we have celebrated for 400 years, my advice is to watch this as a Hollywood movie and not a docu-drama. Hollywood is at its best when exaggerating, twisting and dramatizing historic events and figures.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eYou may be an expert on Shakespeare and even Elizabethan history, but whether you are or whether you are not, my guess is that you will find this to be interesting and thought-provoking. You may agree with the idea that Shakespeare was not the prolific and talented author, but this movie provides one possible alternative … with no scientific proof or actual documentation. We see Rhys Ifans and Jamie Campbell Bower portray Edward De Vere as the older and younger version respectively. Both capture his passion for writing and frustration at being unable to live the life for which he was born.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eVanessa Redgrave and her real life daughter Joely Richardson portray Queen Elizabeth at the older and younger stages, and we certainly get a distinctive impression of how u0026quot;the Virgin Queenu0026quot; may have been mis-labeled as much as any figure in history. Many lovers and illegitimate children are mentioned and the web of secrecy would have been exhausting, given the other responsibilities of her position.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRafe Spall portrays Will Shakespeare as what one might call The Village Idiot. The buffoonery we see from this man is an extreme that weakens the case for De Vere, rather than strengthen it. Though talented writer Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto) was De Vereu0026#39;s first choice, the lack of morals by the illiterate actor Shakespeare allows him to seize a capitalistic opportunity and soak up the audience love.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe best part of the film is the realistic look and feel of the streets, the Globe Theater and costumes. Rhys Ifans is exceptional in the role of De Vere, and the story itself plays out much like one of Shakespeareu0026#39;s plays. The downside is, I believe most will find the multitude of characters and time-lines and sub-plots to be quite confusing at times. Donu0026#39;t take a bathroom break or youu0026#39;ll miss new babies being born and upheavals being planned.”