Was Shakespeare a fraud?  That is the tagline for Roland Emmerich’s new drama Anonymous, which supports the theory that Edward De Vere was really the genius known as “William Shakespeare.”  The truth will probably never be known, as it has been four centuries since the Bard’s works were first published.  I don’t have an opinion about De Vere, though I’ll say this much: the film makes an intriguing case that a well-bred political insider is a stronger candidate to be the real writer than… an actor.  Emmerich’s film does Shakespeare the actor (Rafe Spall) no compliment; he is a talentless oaf.

Emmerich’s film presents a host of historical characters, from Shakespeare and De Vere (Rhys Ifans) to Queen Elizabeth (Vanessa Redgrave, older; Joely Richardson, younger), Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto) and Christopher (Kit) Marlowe (Trystan Gravelle), as well as the politicos of the time.  The drama is, at times, keenly written by John Orloff, full of court intrigue, royal family secrets and De Vere’s belief that the pen was as mighty as the sword.  However, I ultimately became confused by some of the flashbacks to De Vere’s adolescence, when he became quite close to the queen, and by some of the royal court machinations.  If any of this De Vere theory is true, it is no surprise at all that Shakespeare’s actual identity has been lost over the years, for history of that era is ridiculously convoluted.

Judging the film simply as that, a movie, it’s pretty effective.  Rhys Ifans is terrific as De Vere (remember him as a goof in Notting Hill?), conveying haunted genius as the man plagued by voices he must put in writing to keep his own sanity.  Likewise, Sebastian Armesto is excellent as Jonson, who wishes he had De Vere’s talent.  When they are on the screen, the film proves worthy of its subject.  Politics muddle the second half — which is rather the point, I think — yet I wish it were cleaner, and terrible irony takes center stage at the denouement.  All in all, it’s quite a story, one that Shakespeare, whoever he was, might have appreciated.  Anonymous is pretty solid entertainment and actually sparks intelligent debate, which is something most modern movies cannot boast.  ✰ ✰ ✰.  4 Nov. 2011.