
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.... (Full plot summary below)
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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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| The PlaylistTodd Gilchristit fails on its own merits as a messy biopic and even messier historical epic whose authenticity becomes irrelevant when its execution is incompetent. |
| AALBC.comKam WilliamsAll the fixins for a convoluted, costume drama of, dare I say it, Shakespearean proportions. |
| New YorkerDavid DenbyThe Oxford theory is ridiculous, yet the filmmakers go all the way with it, producing endless scenes of indecipherable court intrigue in dark, smoky rooms, and a fashion show of ruffs, farthingales, and halberds. The more far-fetched the idea, it seems, the more strenuous the effort to pass it off as authentic. |
| Boston HeraldJames Verniere'Anonymous' a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. |
| Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallThe most succinct evidence that Shakespeare was a fraud is offered by Derek Jacobi in prologue and epilogue, alone on a Broadway stage before a rapt audience. As usual in matters of the Bard, the play's the thing. |
| ABC Radio BrisbaneMatthew ToomeyPerhaps there is an element of truth in this tale but director Roland Emmerich makes it very hard to believe with this muddled story. |
| Observer (UK)Philip FrenchThe American screenwriter John Orloff may have wished for a muse of fire, but unfortunately he's been given an ear of cloth, and his film would hardly pass muster as a sixth-form end-of-term romp. |
| IGN MoviesJim VejvodaThe film may piss off more viewers than it wins over, but there's no denying that Anonymous has balls the size of The Globe Theatre. |
| ComingSoon.netEdward DouglasA glorious revelation of a film that could very well be considered Roland Emmerich's Moulin Rouge! |
| Toronto StarPeter HowellAnonymous is so dubious in its intent and so tangled in its execution, it might have worked better as a comedy like Notting Hill or The Boat That Rocked, where Ifans could agreeably play the fool as before. |