Pretty Good

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

I'll admit that a major pet-peeve is any movie being blatantly inaccurate when accuracy is readily available with a little decent research. Anonymous is so false in so many ways it would waste too much time to name them all. Sure, you can take certain liberties for the sake of a story arc, but the script is so over-the-top wrong it drives right into a ditch. And what's especially worrisome is that unsuspecting viewers might buy all this malarkey as truth. Shakespeare as illiterate? Are you kidding me? Queen Elizabeth, a long reigning and strong monarch, as a dupe to slimy obsequious advisers whose motives are totally obvious? Ridiculous. Well-known historic and literary figures like Jonson, Marlowe, and Shakespeare himself, played as petty sniveling punks? Really? Other historic figures distorted completely out of their true contexts? This movie bombed for good reasons.

Anonymous (2011): Dir: Roland Emmerich / Cast: Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis, Sebastian Armesto: The first big issue with this film is its claim that William Shakespeare isn't who he has always represented to us through history. Apparently Roland Emmerich's film claims that he was a stage actor who performed plays written by someone else. Impressive directing choice for Emmerich whose films often included the loud and pointless crap such as Independence Day and Godzilla. Here he intrigues us with his arguments, or downright ticks off the scholars who spat upon his film's argument. The performances are top notch despite one's questions regarding their actual historical selves. Rhys Ifans plays Earl of Oxford who is the anonymous and whose words are never associated with him because someone else is given the task. Elizabeth the I is played by Joely Richardson in her young age where she entraps the young playwright and their affair leads to a son and a secret scandal. William Shakespeare himself is portrayed as uneducated and hopeless idiot who cannot write but only express. This could be problematic to some viewers. The art direction is a high point particularly during the appearance of a newly built theatre. Ifans is given a great privilege as a gifted individual unable to take credit or ownership for the writings. Redgrave gives off a near sexual longing for the very words being expressed while Richardson is more the black widow feeling. Sebastian Armesto plays a fellow poet and playwright. The result is a curious and well produced deception. Score: 7 / 10

I don't know why I ever watched this. It was only because it was a new film that I bothered to put it in the DVD player. Therefore I had absolutely no expectations from it.At first I was confused. Everyone in the past apparently looked the same, i.e. beards and ruffs and Baldrick lookalikes for servants. However, I stuck with it. And I'm glad I did.I'm not big on history, so I won't (or can't) comment on its historical accuracy, but it was a damn enjoyable romp nonetheless.It makes the claim that Shakespeare didn't write is plays, but, instead, there was a larger conspiracy at work and someone else did. Now, I don't know whether this was really true or not, but, it's fun to watch.Once you establish which beard is which and which beard is actually a younger incarnation of a beard in the future (as there are a lot of flashbacks showing what the beards were doing when they were younger), you can actually follow the conspiracy and see which beard comes out on top. As it's filled with plenty of beheading, back-stabbing and political treachery, it's actually more entertaining than you might think.A happy filmic surprise.

'Anonymous' is a modern play on Broadway where a different version of Shakespeare's real life is presented. After a prologue, it flashbacks to Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury with his men chasing after Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto) with a collection of manuscripts. He hides them under the Rose and his pursuers burn down the theater. Then it flashes 5 years earlier, Shakespeare (Rafe Spall) is a drunken actor. It flashes 40 year earlier still, Edward De Vere, the Earl of Oxford (Jamie Campbell Bower/Rhys Ifans) is the real author of Shakespeare's works. It is a film about political intrigue in the English court during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (Joely Richardson/Vanessa Redgrave).There are a lot of questionable and complicated history. I almost feel a real need to be more familiar with the British history both royal and literary. There is something wrong with this version of history but I'm not a good enough scholar to pinpoint it. The start of the movie jumps around in time and it's easy to get lost. This is definitely an unique interpretation of history from writer John Orloff. Roland Emmerich's direction really needs to simplify the movie although the complicated story adds to the atmosphere. In some way, all the name dropping is addictive and fascinating. The acting is top notch. Emmerich films it with so much murky realism. It's a very tough call. There is enough great performances and the story is so audacious that I must recommend this.