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United Kingdom, Germany, United States · 2011
Rated PG-13 · 2h 10m
Director Roland Emmerich
Starring Jamie Campbell Bower, Rhys Ifans, David Thewlis, Joely Richardson
Genre Drama, History, Thriller
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Edward De Vere the 17th Earl of Oxford is a playwright and poet living in Elizabethan England during the succession of Queen Elizabeth I and the Essex Rebellion against her. This film explores the theory that it is during this time that he writes the plays that later are attributed to William Shakespeare.
Boxoffice Magazine by Amy Nicholson
Why is Emmerich elbowing his way into the conversation about Shakespearean authorship? Because the debate is explosive - and he can't resist packing on a few more pounds of dynamite on his confident drama of incest, greed and beheadings.
The Oxford theory is ridiculous, yet the filmmakers go all the way with it, producing endless scenes of indecipherable court intrigue in dark, smoky rooms, and a fashion show of ruffs, farthingales, and halberds. The more far-fetched the idea, it seems, the more strenuous the effort to pass it off as authentic.
New York Magazine (Vulture) by David Edelstein
A well-polished cowpat that will confuse and bore those who know nothing about Shakespeare and incense those who know almost anything.
Emmerich takes the story at face value and delivers a film unlike any of his others. That is to say, a boring one.
Other than ludicrously pulpy fun, Anonymous, true to its title, ultimately signifies nothing.
The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt
The film grabs at historical facts, mangles them into a plot worthy of a John le Carré spy novel and takes the viewer on a breathtaking ride through ye olde London.
Village Voice by Nick Pinkerton
Emmerich's movie is sporadically enjoyable trash with better performances than it has any right to: Hogg's verminous villain leaves a trail of cold, oozing hisses.
A curveball from the man who made "2012" and "Independence Day" and probably only a brief respite for the world's major cities.It's more of an interesting curio to a blockbuster career but there's fun to be had here if you look hard enough.
The film as a whole isn't quite as interesting, though it is noteworthy that action specialist Emmerich has clearly decided to change course here from anything he's previously made. Although this is primarily a writer's film, with John Orloff's screenplay (and dialogue) placed front and center, Anonymous surprises with how classical, staid and traditional Emmerich's mise-en-scene is, never straying from tried-and-true costumer standards.
Tampa Bay Times by Steve Persall
The most succinct evidence that Shakespeare was a fraud is offered by Derek Jacobi in prologue and epilogue, alone on a Broadway stage before a rapt audience. As usual in matters of the Bard, the play's the thing.
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