I saw this movie last night and was hugely disappointed. Being a Shakespeare fan, I was always going to be a bit sceptical about any movie that supported the theory that the great man did not write his own plays. But if there was any fear that this movie would lend weight to the countless conspiracy theories that have littered history for centuries, then those fears were soon dispelled. True, Shakespeare is made to look a complete idiot. But that says more about the director and writer than it does about the Immortal Bard. If Shakespeare is treated badly, then Ben Jonson is positively lampooned. Watching the movie, I occasionally got the feeling that its producers did not know who Ben Jonson really was. Historical accuracy was not high on the list of priorities for the makers of this movie. They engage in dynastic and historical gymnastics in order to support the pathetically weak plot, mainly, that Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, wrote the 37 plays attributed to Shakespeare. By the time the movie finished, I think the Earl of Oxord had turned out to be his own father and Queen Elizabeth i was his mother. This will only count as a spoiler if you have attempted to follow the entwined family trees of the Cecils, Tudors and de Veres through irritating jumps back and forward in time which totally confuse the audience. Having said all this, the movie does boast an outstanding cast and Elizabethan London is excellently recreated with both costumes and sets. Just a pity that they also decided to manufacture the historical events.
Review of Anonymous
