Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Anonymous
2011
**
Director: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis, Xavier Samuel, Sebastian Armesto, Rafe Spall, Edward Hogg, Jamie Campbell Bower, Mark Rylance, Trystan Gravelle, Derek Jacobi

Roland Emmerich takes a break from global destruction to rewrite the history of English literature. John Orloff's fictionalised screenplay builds on the conspiracy theory that William Shakespeare did not write his own work. In the alternate reality, the true author is Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford and former lover of Queen Elizabeth, who cannot put his name on the plays. When a proud playwright Ben Jonson refuses to take the credit for Edward's work, an illiterate and buffoonish young actor Will Shakespeare steps in. This ahistorical drama offers a mix of sex, murder, treason, blackmail, betrayal and incest like the Bard's most famous works. What the film doesn't provide is one person I could care about. The events unfolded in front of my eyes, but none of the melodramatic twists made me feel anything, regardless whether a character lost his or her reputation, wealth, sanity, lover, child or head. The visuals and the performances are impressive, though.