Short Burst Reviews: Anonymous

Look behind the scenes of what might have happened when William Shakespeare took the stage and then received notoriety for what we now call “Shakespearean art-form”. I did read that Shakespeare was indeed illiterate. If this is the case, how could he have written such art? He was an actor before he became a writer. No previous plays written before the ones he became famous for. It does make you think.

Anonymous is a conspiracy theory about the true identity and authorship of the plays solely credited to Will Shakespeare. Shakespeare was an actor working for a playwright, Ben Jonson played by Sebastian Armesto. But Jonson, whom wanted to be a famous for his own work, was approached by a nobleman related to Queen Elizabeth I or the court, and given works to perform in the theater. From then on is a story of betrayal, love lost, love gained, war, death, jealousy and treason.

Who was the original playwright and why did he want his work credited by someone else? The remarkable man was Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford, played by Rhys Ifans, who I think stole the whole movie. His artistic expressions when writing his poetry to how he maneuvers around the castle knowing he has been betrayed by his wife and her family to which he was forced to marry into. The movie was really about him or at least he was the only one I cared about.

Anonymous had a lot twists and paralleled stories going on at once. You can feel for every character except for the main one who this movie is about – William Shakespeare. He was portrayed as being quite frankly an asshole and a stupid person but who could act and somehow manage to direct plays. You are in for a treat with this nifty mystery.

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