Photo Source: Columbia Pictures
The biggest surprise is that Roland Emmerich directed it. The helmer of such special-effects extravaganzas as "Godzilla," "Independence Day," and "2012" has an intelligent side and a way with actors when the material is there. A great script and shrewd casting lead the way in this fascinating story that may play with historical fact but still presents a valid and viable theory on just who wrote the masterpieces attributed to William Shakespeare. Could he have been a fraud?
Orloff's thesis, backed up with lots of logic and previously little-known facts, is that the Bard was. Okay, it helps to be open to Orloff's premise, or the whole Shakespearean soufflé falls apart. Stratfordian radicals may line up outside cinemas to protest, but the film has a point that perhaps it was Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans), known as a fairly good poet in his day, who hired the nebbishy Shakespeare (Rafe Spall), a so-so actor, to work as a "front" after de Vere's first choice, Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto), got a little too concerned about his own reputation as a playwright.
Using all of this palace intrigue as a backdrop to the Essex's Rebellion of 1601, most of "Anonymous" plays like a thriller, with all sorts of fascinating characters thrown in, including Queen Elizabeth's main confidants—played by the excellent David Thewlis and Edward Hogg. Thewlis has an especially juicy role as William Cecil, a slippery gent if ever there was one, while Hogg is his son and presumed successor.
Vanessa Redgrave as the queen gets lots of opportunity to chew the scenery here and wear the most garish of all the many costumes on display, while real-life daughter Joely Richardson acquits herself nicely as the younger version of Elizabeth. It is always great to see Redgrave do the classic roles, and she seems to relish this turn with every breath. But the film belongs to Ifans, in a sterling performance that will stun fans and detractors of the actor, who has never before shown this kind of range and discipline on film. As de Vere, he keeps all his previous over-the-top tendencies in check and delivers a portrait of a man forced to keep his true passion and calling in life concealed. That Ifans makes this credible is a key reason the film works as surprisingly well as it does.
With not a whole lot to blow up onscreen, Emmerich proves a fine director of actors and uses his extensive knowledge of CGI to create an absolutely magnificent London of the 17th century. It's a visual playground that serves his actors magnificently, and they have indeed come to play.
Genre: Drama
Written by John Orloff
Directed by Roland Emmerich
Starring Rhys Ifans, David Thewlis, Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, Sebastian Armesto, Edward Hoggs, Rafe Spall
