I saw "Anonymous" over the weekend and have to say I was pretty impressed. Knowing it was by Roland Emmerich, director of cinematic gold such as "2012", "Independance Day" and "The Day After Tomorrow", I didn't really know what to expect. The movie centers around the conspiracy theory that Shakespeare did not write any of the plays attributed to him, a strange subject given his past tendencies toward aliens and world-ending, but he tackles it surprisingly well.
The movie was entirely more dense, political and dialogue driven than i ever expected, catching me a bit off-guard and finding me playing catch up for the first hour as I tried to keep track of the characters, time-jumps, and general "stage-setting" (pun definitely intended.) But as the movie went on, the story began to come together, the players developed and the overall conspiracy grew to the point that you could actually start to see the side of the "theorists" that denounce Shakespeare.
While not factually correct in every instance (as conspiracies require) the movie did a good job of explaining the theory, the reasons behind it, and the actual implementation. It painted the characters in a very believable way, making Shakespeare a total fraud, the kind of person you'd expect to revel in someone else's glory. The real writer became the embodiment of the "Shakespeare" many people would think of today. Classy, intelligent, a bit troubled but wise because of that...a man who was everything good and bad in Shakespeare's writing. The Queen was a tormented and challenged symbol of a country. At one moment in love with art and it's ability to change the world, and in the next a logical ruler, looking for the politically correct decision.
In all, I believed the charade. I saw it happening, I wished it was true. I even looked up the real conspiracies afterward to fact-check and found it even more interesting and compelling....It was well acted, well designed, and had just enough suspense to keep you on edge.
If you deny the conspiracy outright, you will not enjoy the film. If you have no ability to question the greatest writings of all time, even simply for entertainment, the film will probably be boring, stupid and ridiculous. However, if you like a good conspiracy, are interested in some good characters, and looking for a very different take on Shakespeare, this movie might be for you.
It isn't Emmerich's usual "John Cusack flying through an exploding LA" but it's definitely worth paying attention to.
Don't expect a rip-roaring, mind-bending ride, but get ready for an extreme lesson in altered history...delving deep into those involved and into the politics behind it. Overall, I'd give it 6.5/10...and that's a very stingy scale...
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