Anonymous
The theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, who penned Shakespeare's plays. Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I and the Essex rebellion against her.
Director:
Roland Emmerich
Cast:
Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, David Thewlis
Screenplay:
John Orloff
Screening Date:
Oct 22, 2011
| Excellent | Very Good | Good | Fair | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65.9% | 20.9% | 9.9% | 2.2% | 1.1% |
“After seeing this film I can’t imagine when I will see anything as good. It really renders any criticism useless.”
“A very enjoyable movie and spirited telling of this writer’s opinion. The strength of the argument, however was undercut for me by the mishmash of accents and by the incest assertion which was rather over the top.”
“It’s all politics! Ben Johnson was in on it from the start? So not only was Shakespeare a fraud, he’s a fool and a jackass? This is more about English history convolutions than literary arguments.”
“Interesting film. Loved the set designs.”
“What was the reason? At this stage of the game – who cares? However the acting was excellent!”
“You’ve got to give the filmmakers credit, this is a superbly staged story of Shakespearean speculation and they pull every trick in the book to make it work.”
“A very interesting conceit despite the discussion pointing out historical inaccuracies. I thought the script and plot were well crafted. I enjoyed this movie for the acting, dialogue, settings, scenery, costumes and everything. I never heard of DeVere. I wish I knew more about the timeline and the historical facts. The mosh pit scene was over the top.”
“Exceptionally confusing, especially to authenticity and the time. Too many characters and flashbacks; difficult to follow. Film moved quickly, but did not move me.”
“Loved the theatrical bookends of the film, following Shakespeare’s own calling attention to the artifice. And although the dialogue may not be poetry it works for our time period as well as iambic pentameter did for Shakespeare’s.”
“A bit muddled in the beginning, but did become clearer toward the end. The English certainly have a way with words.”
“Powerful…Raises question as to who was the real writer.”
“This film was too much work to follow and I really don’t care about the hub of the plot.”
“Boring. Too many subplots and going back and forth in time. Not credible at all. Good cinematography and good acting. I did like the beginning and the end. The panel discussion should have been both pre and post screening.”
“Enjoyed the film, interesting, however, too long, too discombobulated and not convincing.”
“Regardless of how much is truth or fiction or fantasy or imagined, everything about this film was cinematically riveting.”
“Well performed. Excellent questions.”
“Digital effects visually stunning. Acting superb throughout.” Shakespeare meets soap opera. Loved it!”
“Beautifully done. Wonderful cinematography, costumes, set design, editing, score acting and screenplay. Multiple nominations prospect. DeVere’s explanation of why he wrote – to get the words out of his head - resonated. A play produced at The Manhattan Theater workshop imagined that a number of royals, members of the nobility wrote the plays, but could not according to the times, acknowledge authorship.”
“Too Long.”
“Fascinating and interesting theory as to who wrote Shakespeare’s plays. Leaves many questions that will be talked about throughout generations.”
“So the ‘virgin queen” was actually a bit of tart it seems, begetting several children, one of which she has sex with? Shakespeare wouldn’t go that far. Heck I’m pretty sure Judith McNaught or Johanna Lindsey would dare to go there. But it did make for some compelling (melo)drama.”
