Maryville Pawprint Maryville Pawprint, Maryville University's Student Newspaper
Set during the scandalous Elizabethan England, “Anonymous” proposes that Shakespeare wasn’t the true author of all those plays and sonnets, and the true author was, in fact, just another man. When people doubt Shakespeare, they usually doubt that one man could have written thirty-seven famous plays and countless poems. The movie takes a different approach, arguing one man did write them; his name just wasn’t Shakespeare.
Courtesy of Sony Pictures.
The real writer, Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans), hides his identity to protect his prestigious title. The plot jumps back and forth between his early adulthood and middle age. To me, there was a disconnect between the young, proud Earl, played by Jamie Campbell Bower, and Ifans’ older, flamboyant version. There’s royal scheming, frilly costumes and secret love affairs, like de Vere’s liaison with Queen Elizabeth I (Joely Richardson), resulting in an illegitimate child. All the events in de Vere’s life are reflected later in the plays: a murder through a curtain, a forbidden love, a wise man’s fall into insanity.
Sebastian Armesto plays a young, naïve Ben Jonson, who reluctantly helps de Vere gets his plays performed. The real William Shakespeare, played by Rafe Spall, is ironically a rude, illiterate drunk who lies, steals and murders for fame.
Does director Roland Emmerich really believe that the Earl of Oxford wrote the plays? Most likely the director of “Independence Day”, “The Day After Tomorrow” and “2012” knew nothing sells like a good conspiracy theory these days. “Anonymous” isn’t a historically relevant film genuinely trying to prove anything about Shakespeare. It is just a fun what-if with plenty of lust, suspense and intrigue.
If you’re a Shakespeare fan, you’ll love it. If you’re a real Shakespeare fan, you may leave disappointed. What character does Shakespeare’s plays always include? The Fool. Emmerich tries so desperately to be wise, clever and controversial that he makes a fool of the move itself.
Does the authorship really matter, or are the words more important?
Grade: B
I agree with you in the film Shakespeare is made out to be a bit of a “buffoon”. Whilst I accept fully he didn’t have the profile to be someone who could write 37 plays, 154 sonnets he was a shrewd operator with a very tough business acumen. I have rsearched his business transactins he was a tough cookie. I have spent8 years researching him for my novel, the Pelican Code a thriller bout proof (albeit coded) being found in Northern italy which if released into the public domin would prove there was an alternative author of Shakespearee’s plays. The film itself though from a Techinial poitn of view is excellent with the recreation of 16th Century England first class. Worth seeing – but probably on dvd.