Shakespeare as charlatan

Roland Emmerich’s films (Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012) always portray one thing: disaster.

There is a difference between watching a disaster film and bearing witness to an actual disaster. Sometimes, as in the case of Independence Day, the general chaos makes for a pretty memorable film. But more often than not in Emmerich’s work, the audience senses the impending, apocalyptic doom, not for the characters but for themselves.

What usually unfolds on the screen is bad dialogue, horrendous typecasting and poor execution. So after three consecutive cinematic flops, the average filmgoer will be pleased to hear that Emmerich’s latest film, Anonymous, is not all that bad.

The film opens with a man on the stage of a theater telling his audience about the “Oxfordian Theory,” which posits that William Shakespeare was not, in fact, the author of the plays, sonnets and epic poems ascribed to him—he was only the public face of their true originator.

The real writer, so goes the theory, was Edward de Vere (Rhys Ifans), the 17th Earl of Oxford, an aristocrat and (according to the film) the illegitimate son and former lover of Queen Elizabeth (Vanessa Redgrave).

Vere wrote play after play until his death, according to the film, but was unable to continue writing literature after being blackmailed into marriage. As an older man, de Vere enlists imprisoned playwright Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto) to publicly act as author of de Vere’s play Henry V.

Instead of Jonson taking the credit, however, drunken actor William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall) claims credit in front of the audience for writing the play after the curtain falls. With the plan spoiled, Jonson is forgotten about and his illiterate friend Shakespeare gains notoriety as the hottest playwright of the Elizabethan Era.

Emmerich’s stamp is all over the film, though not necessarily in the best ways. The film is well-paced and contains excellent visual effects, but it suffers from a lack of continuity that staggers the flow.

Within the first 15 minutes, the audience is launched into the past several times, creating unnecessary confusion. It is difficult at first to tell if characters are being focused on at different ages, or if the characters are different altogether. As if this isn’t enough, character names are rarely used. The easiest way to tell what time-scape we’re in is to look at how old Queen Elizabeth is.

There are questions about the historical accuracy of Anonymous. Emmerich has been criticized already for his dubious depictions of Shakespeare’s life and times, but his poetic liberties create an interesting plot point: De Vere’s plays act as catalysts to war to ensure that the proper heir to Elizabeth’s throne is crowned. Emmerich’s fabrications can’t be taken too harshly because they create a more well-balanced story. He is already taking on a somewhat controversial stance over whether Shakespeare truly wrote the plays—where is the harm in expounding a little?

The acting is the real reason to see Anonymous. A bevy of strong British actors makes the film worth watching, but the most interesting is Spall’s ridiculous Shakespeare. (At first glance, the audience will swear it is Ryan Reynolds with long hair and a goatee.) Spall is goofy in this role, but there is a small hint of darkness about him.

Unfortunately, he isn’t as involved in the plot as he should be, as the movie shifts its focus from Ben Jonson and Edward de Vere to de Vere and Queen Elizabeth without so much as a strong glance in Shakespeare’s direction.

Visually, the film is nothing special, but there is enough to enthrall lovers of historical literature and involve them in an intriguing mess that plays out in a fun way. If nothing else, the movie is evidence of where Emmerich could stand as a director of drama without the incessant explosions.