ANONYMOUS- The Review

There’s a new prestige Oscar-bait film opening this week that at first glance may seem to be familiar territory. Recent cinema offerings have explored the reign of Queen Elizabeth I . Cate Blanchett has taken the throne twice while Helen Mirren lent his skills to a recent HBO TV epic. And there’s Judi Dench’s turn in SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE which netted her a supporting actress Academy Award. The new film ANONYMOUS treads that same ground, but this is not a comedy romance, but a mystery/ conspiracy. Now this isn’t quite in the big revelation conspiracy film league like Oliver Stone’s JFK ( which presented multiple theories ). This new film ‘s main reveal is the idea that William Shakespeare did not write any of his works-he stole the credit. Oddly this historical puzzler is not from a genteel former stage director, but the modern master of disaster (  a title formally held by the late, great Irwin Allen ) Roland Emmerich-the helmer of INDEPENDENCE DAY and 2012, to name a few. Can he brings some cinema life to the scandals at the old Globe Theatre?

The film begins in modern times as classical actor Derek Jacobi strides across a bare stage to pose a theory to the audience: the real author of the Shakespeare classics may not be old Will. Cut to several hundred years ago. Ben Jonson ( Sebastian Armesto ) is being chased through the London streets by special agents of the Queen. He ducks into the theatre and hides the scripts to his plays before he is apprehended and the stage is set ablaze. Jonson is released from the dungeon thanks to the influence of Edward De Vere, the Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans ), who has his own plans for him. De Vere wishes to inspire the people of London to stop the succession of the throne from Elizabeth I to the King of Scotland and instead to the Earl of Essex ( Sam Reid ). He wants Jonson to present a play that he has written anonymously ( for no royal would participate in the lowly theatre arts ). The first production is a smash. The audience demands to know the identity of the playwright. Before Jonson can step forward, one of the house actors, William Shakespeare ( Rafe Spall ), claims authorship. In order to continue to arouse the public, De Vere provides more scripts to Jonson , each containing allusions to the Royal Court. These plays command the attention of the Cecils, elder William ( David Thewlis ) and son Robert ( Edward Hogg ), advisors to the Queen ( Vanessa Redgrave ) . Oh, and De Vere is married to the daughter of William. Will the real playwright be revealed before the passing of the crown?

Emmerich does his best with a script that many moviegoers may find hard to follow without a theatre background ( a bit of knowledge about the actual plays is helpful ). Perhaps the studio could issue a royalty history card with each ticket. Adding to some of the confusion may be the frequent flashbacks to De Vere’s youth.  There he is played by Jamie Campbell Bower and Elizabeth is played by Vanessa’ s daughter Joely Richardson. The intimate scenes in the royal chambers are quite startling ( wasn’t Elizabeth the subject of a screen bio called THE VIRGIN QUEEN? ). The cast is uniformly suburb. Ifans is compelling as the conflicted, frustrated Earl. Redgrave is terrific as a royal nearing the end of her reign trying to hold on to her dignity and power ( just try not to stare at those ugly choppers! ). The real scene stealers maybe Spall as the lusty, drunken, semi-literate glory hound Bard. He seems to be having a wonderful time as this ne’er-do-well blowhard. The sets and costumes are extraordinary ( look for some Oscar noms ). Unfortunately Emmerich feels the need to open up the story by including many sweeping overhead shots of a CGI old London ( similar to GLADIATOR ) with varying success. He attempts a big action sequence near the finale’  at the castle entrance and courtyard that seems too fragmented and confusing. Some of the sequences in the theatre during the performances play a bit melodramatic ( did Will really surf over the top of the audience ? ) ANONYMOUS is a well made film, but its central plot may not be compelling enough for most audiences. As in one of the classic titles, this indeed may be ” Much Ado”…

Overall Rating: Three Out of Five Stars