Review 3 "Anonymous"

A couple days ago I was offered an opportunity of watching an awesome political thriller and pseudo-historical drama film, named Anonymous. And now I'd like to share my thoughts, feelings and personal view concerning this film. To begin with, let's consider its plot, cast, and development. 

ANONYMOUS 

Directed by Roland Emmerich

Produced by Roland Emmerich, Larry J. Franco, Robert Leger

Written by John Orloff

Starring Rhys Ifans,Vanessa Redgrave,Joely Richardson,David Thewlis,Xavier Samuel,Sebastian Armesto,Rafe 

Spall Edward Hogg, Jamie Campbell, Bower Derek Jacobi

Music by Thomas WankerHarald Kloser

Cinematography Anna Foerster

Editing by Peter R. Adam

Studio Relativity MediaCentropolis 

Anonymous is an upcoming historical thriller directed by Roland Emmerich. It stars Rhys Ifans and Vanessa Redgrave. It will be released theatrically in the United States on 30 September 2011. It is produced by Centropolis Entertainment and Studio Babelsberg, and distributed by Columbia Pictures.

PLOT


In Elizabethan England, political intrigue abounds between the Tudors and the Cecils for the succession of Queen Elizabeth I (Vanessa Redgrave), as the Essex Rebellion moves against her. The film follows the involvement of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans), as not only the incestuous lover of Queen Elizabeth, but also the true author of the works of William Shakespeare.

CAST



Vanessa Redgrave as Queen Elizabeth I. Redgrave commented that "It’s very interesting, the fractures, in this extraordinary creature.... I only hope that I've been able to respond to Roland in this script sufficiently to be able to just give a little glimpse of this fracturing, this black hole, with shafts of brief sunlight."
Rhys Ifans as Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford / "William Shake-speare"
Jamie Campbell Bower as young Oxford
David Thewlis as William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, longtime adviser to Queen Elizabeth. De Vere came to live in his household as a ward of the Queen at age 12 and became Burghley's son-in-law at age 21. Burghley is thought to have inspired the character Polonius.
Edward Hogg as Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, William Cecil's son and successor
Joely Richardson as young Princess Elizabeth
Xavier Samuel as Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, Shake-speare dedicatee and the focus of his sonnets; prospective suitor to Cecil's granddaughter Elizabeth de Vere
Rafe Spall as William Shakspere of Stratford
Antje Thiele as Lady de Vere
Robert Emms as Thomas Dekker, dramatist
Tony Way as Thomas Nashe, poet and satirist
Sebastian Armesto as Ben Jonson, poet, First Folio editor, and friend of Susan de Vere
Trystan Gravelle as Christopher Marlowe, poet and dramatist
Sebastian Reid as Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, executed for treason
Mark Rylance as a Shakespearean actor at the Globe Theatre
Sir Derek Jacobi as Narrator (Prologue)

DEVELOPMENT


Screenwriter John Orloff had penned the script back in the late 1990s, but it was shelved after Shakespeare in Love came out in 1998. It was almost greenlit as "The Soul of the Age" for a 2005 release, with a budget of $30 to $35 million. However, the financing proved to be "a risky undertaking," director Roland Emmerich told Screen Daily at the time. In October 2009, Emmerich stated, "It's very hard to make get a movie like this made, and I want to make it in a certain way. I've actually had this project for 8 years. It's always supposed to be my next movie, but this time I'm really going to do it because I'm already set to shoot on March 22 ."

In a November 2009 interview, Emmerich said of the film:

At a press conference at Studio Babelsberg on April 29, 2010, Emmerich noted that the success of his more commercial films made this one possible and that he got the cast he wanted without the pressure to come up with at least two A-list American actors.

IMPRESSION


First of all, I'd like to underline that this amazing film supressed all my imagination. There is no doubt that Anonymous was really worth-watching film. Of course, in the beginning I had to work a little, remembering the names, remembering the history of England. But it's worth it. The truth is that I was fully absorbed in the era of that tensed and gloomy time, watching with interest the fates of the heroes. That's why I found Anonymous to be a very entertaining film with excellent acting and a superb plot.