Anonymous Review: The Conspiracy’s the Thing

I’m not sure what it says about humanity but its hard to deny the fact that we love us a good conspiracy theory. To look at our reactions to events both great and terrible one does not have to search high and low to find examples of our cynical and untrusting selves conjuring up alternative realities to why things happened and how. From the Apollo moon landings to September 11 and President Obama’s place of birth, it seems no subject is too well documented or straightforward to question.

Most of these famous conspiracy theories deal with those things have happened in the relatively recent past perhaps in the hope of seeking justice or punishing true guilty parties, but the anals of history are not all cast in stone and even today truth enthusiasts seek out new clues to shed light on very old mysteries. One such mystery (if you actually believe it is one) is the true authorship of the collective works of one William Shakespeare. Perhaps you’ve heard of him?

No? Well, in a nutshell he’s just the greatest playwright who’s ever lived and his work has influenced art as well as the whole bloody English language ever since it premiered in the late 1500s and early 1600s. His reputation is impeccable and will outlast any of us on Earth today but there are still those who have proposed that perhaps Mr. Shakespeare didn’t actually write his body of work himself. Numerous theories abound and one of the more fantastical ones is the subject of a new film called Anonymous directed by none other than Roland Emmerich.

Yes, you read that right. Roland Emmerich. The same man who blew up the White House in Independence Day, made people run away from coldness in The Day After Tomorrow, and literally dropped Los Angeles into the ocean in 2012 has directed a good old fashioned costume drama about Theatre, royal politics, incest, and society. You’re probably thinking no good can come from this and that was my gut reaction as well… BUT somehow, someway Emmerich has pulled off a sumptuous looking film that is both entertaining and fascinating. In fact, on an artistic level this is easily the best film he’s ever done.

I won’t attempt to go through all of the characters and their relationships here as watching them unfold is where the film’s fun lies, but the big name to remember is the Earl of Oxford (played by Rhys Ifans and Jamie Campbell Bower at different stages of his life) who is purportedly the man who penned all of Shakespeare’s works. The most logical followup question to this claim would of course be “Why not take credit for these stunning plays?” Well, back in the day, it was deemed beneath a nobleman to write plays or poetry for mere entertainment, so the Earl simply pawned his work off onto a real playwright named Ben Johnson (Sebastian Armesto) so they could be produced.

Johnson, not wanting to use his name on someone else’s work out of pride passed the plays on further to an illiterate, drunken actor named William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall) who soon found himself basking in the glow of adoring fans once the plays were performed and their greatness revealed.

But Johnson and Shakespeare are almost only bit players as we see the Earl of Oxford’s story play out in two time periods as he develops a romantic relationship with Queen Elizabeth (Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson) and attempts to sway the future of the monarchy by grappling with the cunning father and son duo of William and Robert Cecil (David Thewlis and Edward Hogg respectfully). There are many surprises along the way (one in particular will make you gag) but the proceedings are highly entertaining if historical drama with touches of theatre history thrown in is your kinda thing.

The biggest praise must go to the visual design of the film which is simply gorgeous. The sets, the costumes, the cinematography, and the visual effects that produce stunning vistas of old London are truly impressive and should merit the film at least a handful of Oscar nominations. The script is also extremely solid and buffed up by strong performances from Ifans, Redgrave, and Spall who all bring a fantastic depth to their characters to make for a very rich viewing experience.

The subject matter alone though makes it a film that will undoubtedly not be for everyone and if you’re one of the countless human beings who groans at the mere thought of sitting through one of Shakespeare’s plays,  you’re probably one of them. We can’t fault the movie for that and up until now you’ve probably noticed that there is very little that I find fault with in the movie but there is a bone that I have to pick and that deals with the concept of truth.

Being that this is a conspiracy theory movie I can’t help but to compare it to what I consider the ultimate conspiracy theory movie, Oliver Stone’s JFK. Many will remember the furor that Stone’s film caused on its initial release due to some of the extreme views that it took in regards to the killing of John F. Kennedy and there are certainly academic voices out there right now making similar catcalls at Anonymous but I see a very profound difference.

In JFK, Kevin Costner’s character is a man obsessed with finding the truth and he goes to extremes to prove that the United States government was somehow involved in the killing of Kennedy to the point where his sanity is questioned. Now, whether Oliver Stone himself believed these theories to be true is irrelevant because his leading character was seen doing an investigation and in turn also being investigated. Costner’s character makes a very compelling argument but ultimately viewers can decide for themselves whether to go along with it or not because they know, after all, that this was all just a theory.

The problem with Anonymous then is that it is presented as reality. The film opens with a professorial-type man presenting a show on modern day Broadway that tells the story presented in the film. We are given no sense that this man might be a crackpot or controversial. Instead, he is shown as an intensely intelligent man who looks right into the camera, right into our eyes, and tells us that the works of Shakespeare were actually written by the Earl of Oxford. Viewers with some knowledge of the topic will likely know that this is all hogwash but those going into it blind may come away with the knowledge that Shakespeare was actually a drunken fraud. And that kind of bothers me.

I’m under no allusions that swaths of people unfamiliar with Shakespeare’s work or history will be flocking to this movie, so I know that there are relatively few that will be led astray, but it all feels a little fishy and dishonest just the same.

This is just one of many different theories on how Shakespeare’s work might not be his own and as well-made as it may be I will stand by my opinion that its a bit sneaky of Emmerich and company to not hint at other possibilities or even wink at us that this itself is only a fantasy.  Those that understand that can have a ball with Anonymous but then they need to educate the rest and make sure credit remains where credit is due.

Grade: B+

 

Images courtesy of Reiner Bajo, Columbia Tri-Star Pictures.