Anonymous

PG-13

Released Nov 4, 2011

2 hr. 10 min.

History

Drama

List

47%

176 Reviews

Tomatometer

53%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

As royal troops set fire to the Globe Theatre, Elizabethan-era playwright Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto) is tortured by Robert Cecil (Edward Hogg), who demands to know if Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans), is the true author of the writings attributed to William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall). Flashbacks reveal Oxford's passionate affair with Queen Elizabeth I and how -- in his younger days -- Oxford charmed her with plays like "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

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Critics Consensus

Roland Emmerich delivers his trademark visual and emotional bombast, but the more Anonymous stops and tries to convince the audience of its half-baked theory, the less convincing it becomes.

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R C

Preposterous - but I kept watching! The good acting, coherent (by it's own lights) storyline and lush production values were deserving of more than this absurd conspiracy theory. Correction: conspiracy theories in the plural. At least it was value for money in presenting us with a quite startling array of daft historical improbabilities.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/07/24

Full Review

Leesa M

Tripe. This is a joke, right? Well, maybe not at first… It's mostly interesting at first. Is it Gorgeous filmmaking? I think so… at least visually. I was very much enjoying the Juicy Images and Basking in its portrayal of the time. The feel of the lush environments are wonderful... then it suddenly becomes a melodrama seemingly written by a lovelorn high school Poetry girl who flunked Creative Writing. Its chock-full of Bombastic Bulldinky and Thinly Researched and Contrived fanciful crapola. It's as if a tone deaf person wrote a musical treatise to Miles Davis. This Story (for lack of a better term) is the pinnacle of Elitism. Its Classist and Bigoted towards anyone but the Privileged, basically claiming that no one without a Degree in Literature and Politics, et al, could possibly be as insightful and smart and clever as whoever really wrote Shakespeare. This is the Libertarian Shakes. The QAnon of Shakespeare. Nostradamus meets Lavern and Shirley. Like I said... Tripe.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/06/22

Full Review

David J

A richly informed presentation of the Oxford theory, executed impeccably. After seeing this I fell into the Oxford vs Shaksper YouTube rabbit hole for a year and climbed out with a 90% certainty that Oxford was...is...the author of the Shakespeare cannon.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/04/22

Full Review

Audience Member

The sets and the script are superb, as to the historical accuracy - not sure. Beautifully filmed and scripted, highly entertaining and highly recommended.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Really interesting and thought provoking to what is fiction and what is fact and that well probably never know. It's one of those that you enjoy and understand it better the more times you watch it

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

nuveau s

An adventurous theory indeed! ...or is it? This period spectacle is a marvelous concept that is deftly delivered and makes for an enjoyable jaunt into speculation. The mores of the times make it feasible that sufficient subterfuge that would have been possible to keep up appearances. How many surprising truths have ne'er been told?

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Roland Emmerich

Director

Rhys Ifans

Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford

Vanessa Redgrave

Queen Elizabeth I

Joely Richardson

Young Queen Elizabeth I

David Thewlis

William Cecil

Xavier Samuel

Earl of Southampton

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

This is a stupid person's idea of what a clever film might be and, although I adore Ifans, not even he can save it.

Aug 31, 2018

Full Review

Judith Newmark

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Will Shakespeare, whose words shine on, bright and brave, Is turning o'er with laughter in his grave.

Rated: 1/4

Nov 4, 2011

Full Review

David Stratton

At the Movies (Australia)

The film presents an interesting argument, but didn't entirely convince me.

Rated: 3.5/5

Nov 3, 2011

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Few will walk away from Anonymous convinced of its historical legitimacy, yet interests will be piqued, perhaps inspiring some to read up on the subject from more credible sources.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 6, 2023

Full Review

Jane Freebury

The Canberra Times (Australia)

This is a clever concoction for those who enjoy an enduring mystery.

Aug 18, 2022

Full Review

Mark Jackson

Epoch Times

"Anonymous," while not coming close to being convincing that "Willy the Shake" was a fake, gives one pause regarding the subject matter, in addition to being quite a fun movie.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 13, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

As royal troops set fire to the Globe Theatre, Elizabethan-era playwright Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto) is tortured by Robert Cecil (Edward Hogg), who demands to know if Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans), is the true author of the writings attributed to William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall). Flashbacks reveal Oxford's passionate affair with Queen Elizabeth I and how -- in his younger days -- Oxford charmed her with plays like "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Director: Roland Emmerich
Executive Producer: Volker Engel, Marc Weigert, John Orloff
Screenwriter: John Orloff
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co: Centropolis Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Some Violence|Sexual Content)
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 4, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 7, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.5M

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