Movie Review: Anonymous

Anonymous

PG-13, 2 hr. 9 min.

Directed By

Roland Emmerich

Written By

John Orloff

Genres

Art House & International, Drama

Main Actors: Vanessa Redgrave and a lot of other British Actors

Easy on the eyes factor: 7. I would have to say that I think chicks will dig some of the men in this movie. Not much for guys to look at. But we have the fighting and the violence.

30 Minute Rule: Although the movie begins with a chase scene and a fire. It slows down after that. It is then that they begin to set up the story. Might be a slow start for some unless you just like the renaissance period and your imagination is captured by the look and feel of the movie.

Plot: Set in the political snake-pit of Elizabethan England, Anonymous speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds such as Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Sigmund Freud, namely: who actually created the body of work credited to William Shakespeare? Experts have debated, books have been written, and scholars have devoted their lives to protecting or debunking theories surrounding the authorship of the most renowned works in English literature. Anonymous poses one possible answer, focusing on a time when scandalous political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles lusting for the power of the throne were brought to light in the most unlikely of places: the London stage.

My Review: This is a thinking person's movie for sure. Can you imagine, the greatest writer in the world being reduced to a fraud? And add today's world. Facebook, Twitter, CNN, Headline News, Nancy Grace, Anderson Cooper and all of the other pundits. William Shakespeare would be reduced to Milli Vanilli. He would be done. Guilty without an opportunity to prove his innocence.

This movie really had me thinking. I did not know that so many people questioned the authenticity of Shakespeare's writing, but they had every reason to based on his educational and genetic background. He was an enigma. A mystery. The writer, John Orloff did a wonderful job at sculpting and creating this conspiracy theory. He made me believe that it was true. Very convincing. When it was all said and done, I was questioning the validity of William Shakespeare.

This movie was great. I can't say that everyone will like it. There is a lot of dialogue and very little action. There is poetry and sonnets and everything that you would expect from a Shakespeare story. The movie actually played like one of the subjects infamous plays.

Rating: 6.5 of 10