First, let me say that Anonymous is a piece of fiction. Dates, people and the order of events have been shuffled around to meet the need of the film, and whether or not you put credence in the various theories around Shakespeare's writings shouldn't keep you from seeing Anonymous as an interesting theory and, on average, a good film. It's by no means perfect, but once you get into the feel of it, Anonymous is an enjoyable experience.
Taking place at the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign, Anonymous follows the 17th Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans) who has grown up in another family's household and has held a secret passion for writing. Over the years covered in this film, albeit in an odd time-jumping and jarring manner, we see that the young Earl enjoyed writing everything from plays to poems, but when it came time to mind his house's affairs, he was forced to put his passions away.
When hearing that a play has inspired a bit of ruckus after it makes fun of another nobleman, Oxford's brother-in-law, Robert Cecil (Edward Hogg), Oxford remembers his old passions and desires to see his dust-covered works brought out in the open. He approaches a little-known playwright, Ben Johnson (Sebastian Armesto) about putting on the plays under Johnson's name, but when the Johnson feels his creative feet are being stepped on, he shuffles the duty off to a local actor, William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall). Shakespeare quickly becomes a big name as he produces play after play without anyone, aside from Oxford and Johnson, knowing what is really going on.
Meanwhile, the Queen's (Vanessa Redgrave) failing health and lack of an heir means the line of succession isn't all that clear. Another nobleman and friend of Oxford, the Earl of Essex (Sam Reid) desires to make known his presence and desire to take over the thrown. Oxford and Essex, along with another friend, the Earl of Southhampton (Xavier Samuel) begin to put together a plan to show the Queen that Essex is the right man for the job. Unfortunately, the Queen's advisor and Cecil's father (David Thewlis), has other plans for the next ruler of England, and when he gets wind of Essex's desire, he considers Oxford, Essex and Southhampton threats.
So, already we have two plotlines going. One has Oxford getting his plays out in the open and another involves determining who will be the next King of England. While this already makes the story a little confusing, especially when trying to keep the different characters straight in the different time periods seen in the film, Anonymous adds a third prong to the story, a relationship between Oxford and Elizabeth in their youth. While this last aspect is very important to the rest of the story, it still feels like too much and gives Anonymous a lack of focus. There are plenty of times when Oxford's dealings with Shakespeare and Johnson takes backstage (pun intended) to the romantic and political elements of the film, and while those aspects can be interesting, they really do feel like another movie entirely.
What results is a film that starts off confusing as you try and get the cast of characters straight. Some connections are easy to establish. Not only does Queen Elizabeth wear her iconic dresses in both periods, but she is played by Joely Richardson in the younger years and Vanessa Redgrave in that latter and both feel right for the part, and considering the fact that Richardson is Redgrave's daughter, the family resemblance helps even more. Meanwhile, it took me a bit to realize that Jamie Campbell Bower plays the younger version of Ifans' character - there just seems to be some kind of disconnect between both the characters and the actors. Once the cast was straightened out in my head though, Anonymous became much more enjoyable.
One special feature found on the Anonymous Blu-ray deals with the film's special effects, and they are worth mentioning since Anonymous really sells the feel of Tudor-era London. There is also a featurette concerning the different British accents the actors had to convey in order to properly handle the different classes seen in the film. The third featurette is about the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare's authorship. While many people flat-out denounce the idea that Shakespeare didn't write his own works, both the film and this featurette bring up many points that people not already familiar with the subject should find intriguing.
In the end, Anonymous is only for those people who are already interested in the subject of Shakespeare's authorship. If you go into the film expecting something akin to Shakespeare In Love, you will be disappointed, not only because of the difference in the subject matter, but in the structure of the film as well. At most, Anonymous is a rental, but even then it's not for everyone.
