Anonymous

Who wrote Shakespeare's plays? Could it have been an ordinary man like our William, an itinerant actor whom some say was illiterate? Or was it a nobleman with royal connections, like Sir Francis Bacon, poet/playwright Christopher Marlowe, William Stanley, the 6th Earl of Derby, or, as this story speculates, Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford? “There is no evidence that Shakespeare actually wrote anything,” maintains screenwriter John Orloff. With Derek Jacobi delivering the prologue and epilogue, director Roland Emmerich explores Orloff's far-fetched conspiracy theory, focusing on de Vere (Rhys Ifans), who was so well connected in London that he may have been young Queen Elizabeth's lover, and father of her illegitimate child. Because of political and social constraints imposed by his domineering Puritan guardian/father-in-law, William Cecil (David Thewlis), advisor to the Queen, de Vere pays a cheeky, narcissistic thespian named William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall) to pretend he's authored the provocative manuscripts that acerbically reflect the nefarious intrigue and blatant manipulations within the English court. Emmerich offers up lots of intriguing eye candy in this opulent 16th-century costume drama, while he clumsily—and confusingly—transitions back and forth in time with Joely Richardson as young Queen Elizabeth and her real-life mother, Vanessa Redgrave, playing the frustrated, aged monarch. But undercutting the overall concept is a significant detail: Edward de Vere died in 1604, before Macbeth, King Lear, and The Tempest appeared. Students of the ongoing war over the Bard's identity will appreciate this. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Roland Emmerich and writer John Orloff, the featurette “Who is the Real William Shakespeare?” (11 min.), deleted scenes (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “Speak the Speech…” cast featurette (16 min.), a “More Than Special Effects” featurette (13 min.), extended and deleted scenes (4 min.), and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a historically suspect but often entertaining film.] (S. Granger)