Fresh and Exciting

Brilliant and touching

An action-packed slog

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Okay, this is not as bad as Amadeus where Mozart was portrayed as a boorish and lewd playboy and Salieri as a hack composer willing to kill. And the history of wanting to attribute the writings of William Shakespeare of Stratford upon Avon to some other partial contemporary has been going on for a couple of centuries. This film puts Edward de Vere instead of Bacon, Marlowe or Stanley in the role of the secret author. And like all other names submitted, the Earl of Oxford's case for authorship falls short.I'll give the movie a 3 out of 10 since the cinematography, sound and acting are all fine. It's just that the plot is pure fiction and like The Davinci Code would like us all to believe it fact.Somehow, against any and all evidence, it is presumed a fact that Shakespeare's writings are all autobiographical and that his plays all contain things that he was incapable of imagining. I guess this relates back to our 7th grade teachers telling us to write about what we know so of course that must apply to Shakespeare. Hogwash!How do plays make it to the stage? Before Shakespeare's time through today a play does not get written, turned over to an acting company or director and then produced a few weeks later. Instead, the company of actors and the director sit with the author during rehearsals making changes for all sorts of reasons from the capabilities of the actors to the pacing of the play. To think de Vere could write a play, give it to Shakespeare and have it be successfully produced is ridiculous.And how did de Vere write those great plays after he had died in 1604? Because after the Kings Men moved into Blackfriars in 1608 the plays were written for the smaller stage and the different actors in the company.Shakespeare did not live in an age of biography. He did not even own his plays that were performed by the acting company. For a different example, try and find Christoper Marlowe's name as the author of Tamburlaine. Good luck because such a script never existed. If you are interested in the works of Shakespeare enjoy this movie as a work of fiction just as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet or Taming of the Shrew are. It is not history as de Vere was not the author of the works by the man from Stratford. At least the producers did not market this as a documentary as the people that produced Last Will and Testament. Now that really is a case of false advertising.

the story is far to be original. the details are not always the most inspired. but the film remains seductive at whole. as a fascinating puzzle. as a nice hypothesis. as a game of characters, events and facts. as the old if's play. the dark atmosphere. the right cast. Joely Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave as strange sides of Elisabeth. a profound different Shakespeare. the drops of historical facts. the fake answers to dilemmas who seems be credible. the smell of that London, the darkness inside and outside, the mysteries and the end. a film not good or remarkable. but seductive in profound sense. because it presents not exactly a story but parts of the universal story about love, sacrifice, honor, passion and duty. and it does a good job. so, Anonymous. and the trip in a not ordinary period.

Everything is wrong but extremely well made. This is certainly Roland Emmerich's masterpiece, and although almost nothing is according to that part of reality which in spite of all is known to us of those days, it's a great story very well written. A few things are convincing, though.Above all, Rhys Ifans makes a very convincing Edward De Vere as the absolute nobleman he was, making a complete tragedy of his life. Edward Hogg as Robert Cecil is perhaps the most convincing character of all oiling the way of his intrigues in serpentine slyness. Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson as the Queen, Sebastian Armesto as Ben Jonson, Southampton and Essex, Burleigh, well, all the actors make a perfect job, and Will Shakespeare is finally exposed as the fake he most probably was. The rest is fiction.The film makes Elizabeth the mother of various bastards including all the major earls in a plot of all round incests, while more disturbing is the blatant historical incorrectness of making Shakespeare murder Marlowe ten years after his official death and the performance of Richard III at the moment of rebellion – it was actually Richard II. Of course, everything is exaggerated, there were no overwhelming massacres at Essex' demonstration, but never mind – it's a great film widely transcending and surpassing the obvious construction of the absurdly tall story of "Shakespeare in Love" and made more convincing, above all by the superb acting by all the actors (includiong Derek Jacobi, who actually only states the facts, and Mark Rylance as Condell – you immediately recognize his voice.) Only Bacon is missing. This is self-evidently a full score film and for all times.To sum it up: Most viewers seem to agree that this is Roland Emmerich's masterpiece - a feast for the eyes and intensive action all the way, great dramaturgy, the theatre scenes are all flamboyant parties and the highlights of the film, a fantastic although hardly plausible story, and at last a debunking of the phoney Shakespeare cult. The exaggerations, although overdone as always in Emmerich's films, are dramaturgically no detriment to the film but only add to a perfect theatrical drama of both splendour, knavery, humanity and tragedy.

My taught on Anonymous The movie name 'Anonymous' quite inspired me about the unknown truth behind Shakespeare. I personally found it interesting. Also the soundtracks were quite good to give you a great feeling about how is was back then. In this movie you can also find some great actors, a few funny moments, quotes about Shakespeare what I really liked a lot and great historical references. Still, I think this movie could be better. When I was in the middle of the movie I had trouble following the time indication whenever it was a flashback or present. There are a lot of actors during the movie and It was difficult to distinguish them. Also I had a hard time understanding all the relationships with each other. I personally think you have to watch this movie twice if you truly want to understand all of it. Written by a 18 year old Dutch student, trying to improve his English writing skills.