Anonymous (I) (2011)

The theory that it was in fact Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, who penned Shakespeare's plays. Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I and the Essex rebellion against her.

Director:

Roland Emmerich

Writer:

John Orloff

Stars:

Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave, Sebastian Armesto

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rhys Ifans	...	Earl of Oxford
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Queen Elizabeth I
Sebastian Armesto	...	Ben Jonson
Rafe Spall	...	William Shakespeare
David Thewlis	...	William Cecil
Edward Hogg	...	Robert Cecil
Xavier Samuel	...	Earl of Southampton
Sam Reid	...	Earl of Essex
Jamie Campbell Bower	...	Young Earl of Oxford
Joely Richardson	...	Young Queen Elizabeth I
Paolo De Vita	...	Francesco
Trystan Gravelle	...	Christopher Marlowe
Robert Emms	...	Thomas Dekker
Tony Way	...	Thomas Nashe
Julian Bleach	...	Captain Richard Pole

Storyline

Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, is presented as the real author of Shakespeare's works. Edward's life is followed through flashbacks from a young child, through to the end of his life. He is portrayed as a child prodigy who writes and performs A Midsummer Night's Dream for a young Elizabeth I. A series of events sees his plays being performed by a frontman, Shakespeare.

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Plot Keywords:

earl of oxford | play | flashback | author | queen | 

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Taglines:

Was Shakespeare a Fraud?

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Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [jp]

Country:

UK Germany USA

Language:

English French Italian Greek, Ancient (to 1453)

Release Date:

28 October 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

Anónimo

Filming Locations:

Studio Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,012,768 (USA) (28 October 2011)

Gross:

$4,463,292 (USA) (9 December 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Centropolis Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first major full-length motion picture to be shot with the Arri ALEXA high-definition digital-video camera.

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Goofs

The play presented on the eve of the Essex Rebellion was William Shakespeare's "Richard II", not (as portrayed in this film) "Richard III".

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Quotes

Ben Jonson: You are the soul of the age... Undeniable perfection that plagued my soul.

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: The Rum Diary (2011)

User Reviews

Anonymous = Entertainment

First thing to point out. When going to watch this movie I had no intention whatsoever to judge it on its historical accuracy. I simply did not and do not care. If you want a documentary on Elizabethan times then clearly you shouldn't be watching this particular film.

If, on the other hand, you want a perfectly entertaining and interesting way to spend a couple of hours then you should go and see it. I thought the story was engaging and original (if, like myself, you're not a pretentious academic). The acting was, on the whole, very accomplished. In particular, I thought Rhys Ifans gave a brilliant performance as De Vere and was perfect for the role. I did find Rafe Spall pretty annoying as Shakespeare, but perhaps I should give him the benefit of the doubt as this was probably the aim of the character.

With regards to the historical rewrite then surely if people are interested in what 'Anonymous' suggests they'll try to find out more about the subject in order to make their own mind up. Nothing wrong with that. And those taking Hollywood's version of history at face value are pretty much beyond help anyway.

Certainly one of the most memorable movies i've seen (for the right reasons) this year.