Shakespeare a fraud? After the years I endured in high school and college trying to decipher his texts, that’s a concept I can readily support. Anonymous tells of a theory that Shakespeare was actually just an in between for Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, played by Rhys Ifans. The purpose was to get de Vere’s plays seen and subtle propaganda to the masses without revealing his personal feelings. Since the film never claims to be complete historical truth, there is a significant amount of dramatization and inference involved. That surely peeves scholars, but for movie fans it adds extra excitement.
For those who lack knowledge on this time period, everything seems realistic enough to buy it. In addition, those who are fans of the texts commonly attributed to Shakespeare should be intrigued by the context that makes it into the plays. It’s like looking for the hints of unrelated characters in Marvel movies, but on a way more academic level. The film’s sets are very well done and provide scale, which movies of this genre don’t usually have. With the king of disaster movies, Roland Emmerich directing, the film’s scope is hardly surprising. Though most wouldn’t be able to draw much connection between this and Emmerich’s other works. Most notably there is a lack of Godzilla and aliens blowing up the White House.
The cast, which includes three Harry Potter alumni, Ifans, Jamie Campbell-Bowyer and David Thewlis, give sincerity to the film that deals with such a controversial topic. The script may not be in Shakespearian verse, but it is spoken as if it were a possible counterpart to that age. Though it must be said, the many scenes portraying staged productions of famous moments in Shakespeare weigh down the story. As in any case, the language is dense, but when sandwiched between clearer dialogues it is too much. Plus they add many minutes to a film that could profit from being a bit shorter. (7.8 out of 10)
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