Anonymous

The movie "Anonymous" stars Rhys Ifans as Edward De Vere(the Earl of Oxford) and Vanessa Redgrave as Elizabeth I. The actual existence of William Shakespeare is still surrounded by much speculation and Edward De Vere is one of the actual people thought by historians to have written the works that are recognized as Shakespeare's. I found this movie to be a very intriguing theory on the most well-known playwright in the world. However, there were some things about the movie that irked me. For instance, Vanessa Redgrave's portrayal of Elizabeth was on the pathetic side. "The Virgin Queen" is usually thought of as strong and independent of men, but in this film she is absolutely influenced by several men, Edward De Vere in particular, who she fell in love with. The film portrayed her as a wounded lover and quite codependent. Another thing that I found quite far-fetched about this film was the insinuation that Edward De Vere and two of of the main characters were Elizabeth's bastard sons. This presents an interesting theory and I'm sure she had her fair share of sexual partners even though she never wed, BUT to say that she slept with her own son...That just doesn't sit well with me, or most modern society. I like having an alternative view on the existence of Shakespeare that surpasses anything that I have seen, but I don't think the added incest drives the point home any harder. It was a good film, definitely worth watching, but loses all credibility when the facts of De Vere's parentage are presented.