“Set in the political snake-pit of Elizabethan England, Anonymous speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds such as Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Sigmund Freud, namely: who actually created the body of work credited to William Shakespeare? Experts have debated, books have been written, and scholars have devoted their lives to protecting or debunking theories surrounding the authorship of the most renowned works in English literature. Anonymous poses one possible answer, focusing on a time when scandalous political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles lusting for the power of the throne were brought to light in the most unlikely of places: the London stage.”

I was very intriged by the concept of the movie Anonymous.  What if Shakespeare really had not written his amazing plays and sonnets?  I was excited to see this movie’s take on it.

There were several things that I liked about the film.  I thought the art direction and costume designs were amazing.  They really sucked you into the Elizabethan era.  My favorite costumes were Queen Elizabeth’s dresses.  They were very beautiful.  A queen’s dresses have to be pretty though.  During the movie, we see many different excerpts from Shakespeare’s plays.  It was fun to see some of the costumes from those as well.

I loved the acting in this movie.  Rhys Ifans (many people may know him as Xenophilius Lovegood from the Harry Potter films) as the Earl of Oxford was my favorite.  This is the man that supposedly really wrote the amazing works of Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and the others we know as Shakespeare’s.  I am used to seeing him as a crazy character.  It was great to see him play a character with such depth and emotion.  I also thought that it was fun that Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson, who are really mother and daughter in real life, both played the part of Queen Elizabeth.  This movie goes back and forth between different time periods.  Ms. Redgrave and Ms. Richardson were both superb.

I liked that this movie had many different plot twists.  Many different aspects of the story are very surprising.  You think you have something figured out and then you are fooled.

I really enjoyed this movie and will be recommending it to others!

Anonymous gets bragging rights!

Anonymous opens today in theaters.  It is rated PG-13 for some violence and sexual content.  For more information about this movie, you can go to the film’s Official Website.