Stretching the truth can be so enthralling

Rafe Spall as William Shakespeare (opposite) and Vanessa Redgrave as Queen Elizabeth I in Anonymous

What if William Shakespeare didn’t write Romeo and Juliet? What if he was nothing more than an arrogant actor who hung out with the likes of writers Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson, and took credit for every sonnet and play that he supposedly wrote?

In German director Roland Emmerich’s Anonymous, he, along with writer John Orloff, ask these questions.

As ridiculous as this theory sounds, both Emmerich and Orloff, pull it off with ease and make us believe in the possibility it could be true.

The writing is flawless, and given the many twists and turns that we endure, it all works and makes complete sense. It doesn’t hurt that the film is impeccably cast as well.

Derek Jacobi, rumored to believe in this theory, bookends the film. We see an aerial shot of New York City as the film opens. The camera pans down through the streets and buildings to a taxicab that pulls up to a Broadway theater. Jacobi steps out, and walks into the theater apparently late for a performance, and takes the stage.

The curtain literally opens as he takes his place, and he addresses the audience, explaining the theory, as the actors get ready for their upcoming entrances. Before we know it, the stage is covered in rain and we are no longer looking at a stage, but instead we now see the muddied alleys of London in the 1500s.

Edward, the Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans), is taking in a Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto) play. After Jonson is arrested because of his work and then released, Edward makes a deal with Jonson. If he agrees to take some of the plays he has been writing and have them produced under his (Jonson’s) name at the local theater, Edward will pay him a handsome fee; but he is never to divulge who actually wrote the plays. Jonson begrudgingly accepts but doesn’t feel comfortable signing his name to the works due to the difference in their writing styles.

Yet the arrangement works for a while until the plays start packing people in. Before long the chant “author, author” erupts throughout the theater.

At one point, William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall), played as an arrogant, drunken, loud-mouthed actor, offers to take the burdensome task of being a fraudulent master playwright off Jonson’s shoulders, but Jonson demures – that is until the chanting begins.

Jonson reconsiders and takes up Shakespeare’s proposal. Thus, the latter walks out – script in hand – and takes ownership of the Earl’s plays with a flourish of false pride.

That’s just the beginning of the many liberties both Emmerich and Orloff take in Anonymous. And, spellbound by the effective writing and directing, we willingly follow the artfully conspiracy-minded filmmakers. Although the liberties the pair take are too many to list here, each is so irresistibly laid out that the movie viewer finds that he or she too is (at least for 130 minutes) a conspiracy theorist.

The film is shot beautifully, edited skillfully and acted with eloquence; Vanessa Redgrave as Queen Elizabeth, Edward Hogg as Robert Cecil, David Thewlis as William Cecil and Joely Richardson as young Queen Elizabeth all shine in their scenes making this film Oscar-worthy to be sure.

There isn’t a weak link in the rest of the cast. All engagingly play their roles and give us just enough taste of the period without going too far. The acting is as sumptuous as the direction, costumes and cinematography.

Anonymous is filmed very much like the Milos Forman Oscar-winning film Amadeus. The period costumes by Lisy Christi, and the makeup along with the fantastic cast and direction make this a film not to be missed.

It may seem implausible that William Shakespeare didn’t write all of the plays and sonnets that have ensured his name will last as long as there is a human race. But what if he didn’t?

Anonymous probably won’t convince you that he didn’t pen the English language’s undisputed masterworks. But it will make you enjoy considering that possibility.

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